


A Different Kind of Song

by gertie_flirty



Series: Listen and You Will Hear [3]
Category: Ranma 1/2
Genre: F/M, Family Issues, Rare Pairings, Sisters
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-15
Updated: 2020-07-15
Packaged: 2021-03-05 06:41:31
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 17
Words: 42,660
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25250089
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gertie_flirty/pseuds/gertie_flirty
Summary: Nabiki isn't the sister that gets to fall in love. Never planned on it. Never wanted to. Always seemed like a lot of trouble. Especially not with--well. Doesn't matter, does it?A story about finding yourself, finding love, and being a sister. And maybe, just maybe, allowing yourself to be happy.
Relationships: Hibiki Ryouga/Tendou Nabiki
Series: Listen and You Will Hear [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1802869
Comments: 2
Kudos: 31





	1. Week One

_Sunday_

"Ah! I can't believe summer's over already!"

Nabiki looked over at her sister, sitting next to her on the train.

"And we didn't get to go to the beach this year, either."

"It didn't feel fair, when Kasumi would have to stay behind with the baby."

"Everyone wanted to stay home with the baby. Daddy pretty much never leaves that kid's side."

"Nabiki! Are you jealous of a newborn baby?"

"Hmph." Nabiki sniffed. "Hardly. Just tired of having my plans interrupted."

"That's part of having a family, I guess."

"I guess."

Akane leaned back against her seat and sighed. "I miss Ranma."

"You just saw him an hour ago."

"I know, but who knows when I'll see him again?"

"Friday, when you take the train back, just like you do every weekend."

"That's so long from now."

"You just spent an entire month with him."

"You wouldn't understand, Nabiki."

"You're right, I wouldn't."

Nabiki crossed her arms and listened to the _clackity-clack_ of the train as it hurtled towards their destination. She really couldn't imagine being so obsessed with a guy that going not even five full days without seeing him would arouse such heartbreak. Being alone for weeks at a time was really ideal.

_Ding._

Their stop.

Nabiki and Akane picked up their bags and began the walk home. Or, at least, their temporary home, a somewhat rundown boarding house in the same town as their university. For her first year attending school, Nabiki had always made this walk alone. Now, however, everytime she made the return walk from the station, Akane was right next to her.

It wasn't as if she didn't like having her little sister live next door to her. It could even be enjoyable sometimes, when Akane was feeling adventurous and would accompany her on a night out. But sometimes Akane could be incredibly needy, and on the nights Akane had nightmares Nabiki could hear her scream and cry through the neighboring wall. But she had never been one who excelled at comforting people, so she would just lie in her own bed, listening. Nabiki tried to call Ranma, the first few times it happened, but it always resulted in him rushing up there from Tokyo in the middle of the night, so Akane forbade her from doing it again.

At least it was happening less and less lately. Akane was even fun sometimes, like she used to be. Even let herself get angry. But she still ran home nearly every weekend, and the ones she didn't, Ranma came to visit her. And Nabiki had originally chosen this school because it was far away from all the insanity at her house, and insanity followed Ranma wherever he went.

So most weekends, when Akane went back to Tokyo, Nabiki would stay at the boarding house, enjoying the peace and quiet. Or as quiet as her other neighbors allowed it to be. 

Once they had trundled up the stairs of the boarding house and stood in front of their respective rooms, Akane paused and looked over at Nabiki.

"Hey, Nabiki, do you want to watch a movie tonight?"

"No thanks."

Nabiki looked down at her keys, not wanting to look at her sister. Akane had a way of looking hurt that made you want to take care of her, even though she was probably the toughest woman in Japan.

"Are you sure?"

"Akane!" Nabiki's patience was wearing thin. She had just spent an entire month with her family, and that was more than enough. "I thought the entire point of you coming up here was to be more independent. Don't use me as a replacement for Ranma."

"I guess you're right."

Nabiki ignored her sister's soft tone and brusquely unlocked her door. It always stuck in the frame a little bit, so she jiggled the knob until it was free and forced it open. With a huff, she threw her suitcase into the middle of the room and slammed the door shut behind her.

It wasn’t the biggest room. Her bed, a desk against the window. A bureau pushed up against the wall to hide the many holes that had obviously been patched over the years. A mini-fridge in the corner, microwave on top. Even though it was a cramped old place in disrepair, it was her space, and she could keep things how she liked them.

Nabiki threw herself back onto her bed, letting her legs dangle over the sides, staring up at the ceiling. Akane had just been trying to be nice. But that was the problem, wasn’t it? Akane was always trying to be nice. She was the baby of the family, and everyone still treated her like a baby, coddling her and putting her feelings first. Even Ranma and his parents treated Akane like she was made of fragile crystal, despite the fact that Nabiki had been watching her sister put holes in cinderblocks since she was seven years old. 

But still. She had just tried to be nice. Shouldn’t have snapped at her like that. 

Nabiki sighed and rolled over onto her side. Reaching over to her desk, she grabbed one of her schoolbooks by the corner and pulled it over to the bed. She had an exam the next day. Best to study. Akane would be fine.

* * *

_Monday_

“Oi! Nabiki!”

“How can I help you, Mamo-chan?”

The lean boy with bleached hair and a leather jacket ran up the stairs to the mathematics building as she exited. Panting once he reached the top, he gave her a grin full of white teeth. 

“Just wondering how you’re doing today.”

“You ran all the way up here to ask me that?” Casually, she shifted her bag over one shoulder and leaned against the stair railing. 

He sighed. “I need a favor.”

“Of course you do.”

“Look, you remember a couple months ago when you and the rest of the tennis team went out and did karaoke?”

“I do.”

“And you remember how you got a standing ovation and we begged you to sing over and over again?”

“Is all this flattery leading up to something?”

“Yeah.” Mamoru scratched his chin nervously. “Look, the lead singer of my band flunked her last exam. Her parents made her go home.”

Nabiki raised an eyebrow. “And?”

“And! We have a show on Saturday.” His grin took on a nervous, shaky quality. “And I was wondering--”

“I don’t even know any of your songs,” Nabiki said. She reached into her bag and pulled out her math textbook, searching for the review questions she needed.

“Ah, but you have that memory thing! The one where you remember everything!”

“You mean an eidetic memory?”

“Yes!” He pointed at her in triumph. “That’s it!”

“First of all,” she replied coolly. “I do not have an eidetic memory. I just have a good memory. You might have one too if you put some actual effort into schoolwork and not spend all your time at university playing music in shady bars.”

“Aw, but Nabiki, we really need your help! You’re the only one I know who can sing the part and memorize all the songs in time.”

She sighed. “How much?”

He wrung his hands together. “Well, you see, that’s the issue, we’re not getting paid.”

“You mean you’re playing for exposure? Forget it.” She snapped her book shut and shoved it back in her bag, turning to march down the stairs. 

“Nabiki! Wait!” Mamoru frantically yelled after her. 

Against her better judgment, she paused. Turned around. 

“I’ll pay you!” He shouted. “Out of my own pocket!”

“How much?”

“Five thousand yen?” He offered hopefully.

Nabiki smiled. “I’ll take it.”

* * *

_Friday_

After practicing with Mamoru's band, Nabiki walked Akane to the train station. It had been pouring rain since the early afternoon and there were no signs of letting up as day slipped into night. 

"Are you sure you don't want to come home this weekend, Nabiki?" Akane adjusted the weight of her umbrella with one hand, carrying her weekend bag with the other.

"I told you I need some time to myself."

Nabiki hadn't told her sister about the band's show. Akane could be obnoxiously supportive, and would have not only skipped going home for the weekend, but would have invited the entire family to attend. This was something for just Nabiki, and she wanted to keep it that way.

Still, she had felt a little guilty for ignoring her sister most of the week. So now they walked side by side, each with their own umbrella, down to the train station half a mile from their boarding house. 

"Okay, Nabiki. I guess you did get enough of all of us this summer, huh?" Akane smiled.

Nabiki looked away. Obnoxiously supportive. "I sure did."

"Ah, here we are." Akane stepped up to the doors of the station, the fluorescent light emanating from inside making her look pale.

Nabiki was reminded of another train ride she had taken with her sister last summer. A blue bruise under Akane's cheekbone. Her hands covered in bandages. The faraway look in her eyes. How hoarse her voice was, how short her answers had been when Nabiki asked her a question.

"Akane," Nabiki said, taking a deep breath. "Be safe."

Akane looked at her over her shoulder and smiled again. "I will."

Nabiki let out the breath and Akane pushed her way inside of the train station, closing her umbrella. Nabiki watched her for a moment, then turned around to begin her walk back in the rain. Along the way, she quietly hummed one of the band's songs she had learned earlier that week.

At the start of the last block that led to her place, she jumped into a deep puddle in the street, enjoying the splash against her rainboots.

There was a flash of lightning and she noticed a familiar figure standing in front of the boarding house, holding a red umbrella.

"Ryoga-kun?" Nabiki asked, right before the thunder rumbled.

He looked up at the sound of his name. With his free hand, he held a tattered map. "Ah. Nabiki. So this isn't Kyoto then."

He didn't say it as a question, but as a rather somber declaration.

"Nope!" She grinned and skipped over to him, giving her umbrella a twirl over her shoulder. "Why are you trying to go to Kyoto?"

"Seemed as good a place as any." He folded the map and placed it into his pocket. "So long."

"Wait, where are you going?"

"Have to make camp."

"Are you kidding? This is practically a typhoon."

He shrugged.

She sighed. "You can come sleep on my floor, at least."

He looked up at the building, then back at her. "You sure?"

Nabiki smiled again. "Well I'd feel just terrible if a little pig got lost in the storm, now wouldn't I?"

Ryoga followed her inside and upstairs without saying anything else. She unlocked the door to the room, wiggled the knob, and pushed it open. Stepping to the side, she let Ryoga pass by to get in, but space was tight and he nearly bumped into her.

"Sorry, sorry."

"It's fine. You can drop your pack there. Not enough room for your sleeping bag, I think, but I can give you a blanket and pillow."

Nabiki climbed on top of her bed on all fours, picking the lumpiest pillow from the pile and tossing it back to him.

"Thanks," Ryoga said, as he sat on the floor. He attempted to fluff the pillow with a few pats, and she threw a blanket at him as well.

"You're lucky that other than the rain, it's still pretty warm. In the winter, it gets freezing in here." She could reach her bureau from the end of her bed without getting up, so she opened the top drawer and started rummaging around.

"You don't have a space heater or a kotatsu or something?"

"Are you kidding? There's no room for a normal kotatsu in here. I'd have to find a small one. And my space heater busted back in February."

"I see."

She winked and made a circle with her index finger. "Now I'm gonna change, so be a good boy and turn around."

Obediently, Ryoga quickly pivoted in place where he sat and faced the wall. Nabiki swiftly changed into a pair of cotton short-shorts and a t-shirt nearly long enough to cover them. Sitting up on her bed, she threw her other clothes into the corner over Ryoga's head.

"Okay, you can turn around now."

"Mm." He did, but he didn't look up.

"You can change, if you want to."

"Ah, it's fine."

"Come on Ryoga-kun, I already feel bad for making you sleep on the floor."

"It's fine, I normally sleep in my clothes, or, well--"

"Yes?"

"My underwear."

She laughed at how bashful he was. "Oh no, a boy's underwear. However will I cope with such a sight? Come on now, get changed."

"All right," he grumbled. Standing, he grabbed the back of his collar and yanked his shirt off smoothly with one hand. He pulled the hem of his tank top down as he stepped out of his pants, remaining in his boxers. He resumed his seat on the floor and neatly folded his clothes, setting them besides his rucksack.

Nabiki was surprised by how much she appreciated the view. She had seen Ryoga shirtless before, but not in a long while. Now he was taller, broader, his muscles even more developed. He was so broad that she found herself wondering how this guy had ever lost a fight to Ranma.

At the thought of Ranma, she frowned. Not everything that happened to her had to be about him. With one arm, she reached over to her desk and turned off the lamp. She slid back down onto her side and faced Ryoga. At least what she could see of him in the darkened room.

"Hey, Ryoga-kun."

"Yeah?"

"You know, you're usually a pretty somber guy. But for some reason you have an even more morose expression than normal. Did something happen?"

He overlapped his hands together, placing them in his lap. "Akari broke up with me."

"What? Really? And here I thought she loved the man and the pig."

"She did."

"Then why the breakup?"

"She was tired of me being away all the time. Couldn't handle me being lost so much. Said she couldn't wait for me anymore."

"Ah, how tragic."

"It is."

Ryoga always took her teasing seriously. Sapped the fun out of it.

"Well, I guess you're better off without her anyway."

"Really?"

"You can't help getting lost. It's part of who you are. If she can't accept that, it's her problem."

"I don't know."

She heard him sigh before he continued.

"It's all right. I was used to being lonely before. I'll get used to it again."

Nabiki huffed and rolled over onto her back, putting her hands underneath her head. "Glad I've never been lonely."

"Really? You've always seemed lonely to me," Ryoga said. "Ah, well, good night."

She couldn't see it, but he reclined on the floor and pulled the thin blanket over his shoulders, turning on his side away from her.

Nabiki stared up at the dark void of the ceiling. Who just says something like that outright? Ryoga was extremely clueless.

Weirdly, her heart seemed to be beating a little faster.

* * *

_Saturday_

Ryoga was gone by the time she woke up, but it was nearly noon when Nabiki finally roused herself from sleep. He had folded the blanket and stacked the pillow neatly on top of it by the bureau.

Nabiki yawned as she sat up, the afternoon sun streaming through the window above her desk.

"Huh? What's this?"

A small piece of white paper, folded in half, resting on top of a cup noodle on her desk. She picked up the paper and unfolded it.

_Nabiki-san,_

_Thank you for your hospitality. As thanks, please accept this instant ramen. I know it isn't much, but unfortunately it is all I have at this time. When I get to Kyoto, I will send you a proper souvenir as a token of my gratitude._

_\--Ryoga Hibiki_

Nabiki rolled her eyes. What an idiot.

She picked up the cup noodle, tossing it gently up and down with one hand. Oh well, free food is free food.

* * *

"Thank you!"

Nabiki took one last bow and stepped off the small stage at the end of their set. Only thirty or so people had been in attendance, but they had been an enthusiastic audience, clapping and dancing along. Mamoru unplugged his guitar from the amp, leaning down to pack it away in its case.

"Oi, Nabiki, aren't you gonna help us pack up?"

"I was under the impression I was a special guest star, not a roadie." 

He stuck his tongue out at her. "I thought you were really starting to feel like a real member of the band."

"Yeah, Nabiki-chan," piped up Ami, the drummer, a short plump girl with a mass of tightly curled hair. "I thought we were starting to become sisters in rock."

"Too corny for me," Nabiki said dismissively. "But feel free to join me at the bar when you're done."

She gave them a wave and they both made faces at her back as she turned away. Feeling light and confident, she pranced over to the bar, which was separated from the stage area by a partial wall. It was certainly a dive, with poor lighting, cracked wood, stained floors, but she had drank in worse places.

Positioning herself elegantly on an open stool, she rapped her knuckles on top of the bar itself to get the bartender's attention. Bar was being tended by the owner himself tonight, a middle aged man with a full beard and a close cropped haircut. 

“May I help you?”

“I was under the impression that performers drink free,” Nabiki replied, giving him her most charming smile.

“One free drink,” he specified, and placed a bottle of beer in front of her, popping off the cap.

“That’s it? I don’t even get to choose?”

“No.”

Nabiki shrugged, but hid her disappointment. “Thank you for your hospitality.” 

She picked it up and took a swig. It tasted like absolute garbage, but it was free, so she didn’t complain. 

The bartender looked over Nabiki's shoulder with a sharp glare. 

"Hibiki!" he yelled in his deep voice. 

Nabiki looked behind her in shock as Ryoga came jogging up to the bar, apron around his waist, dish towel draped over his shoulder, carrying a rubber bin full of plates and glasses.

"I'm here, I'm here!" said Ryoga, setting the bin on the counter. 

"Did you bus all the empty tables?"

"Yes, boss!"

"All right. Take a break for a minute, but then I want you in the back, washing dishes."

"Got it!"

"Ryoga-kun?" Nabiki said, causing Ryoga to turn and finally notice her. 

"Oh, uh, hello," he replied. 

"What are you doing here?"

"I sort of, well, broke through the wall of the bathroom of this place when I was trying to find my way out of town. And I'm trying not to just avoid my mistakes anymore, so I offered to bus tables for a few days until I can pay off the damage."

"How noble of you," Nabiki said. She raised one eyebrow and took another sip of beer. "So, I guess you saw my show, then?"

"I did," Ryoga said hesitantly. "You were pretty good."

"I know." She smirked. "But, unfortunately, I have a favor to ask you."

"What's that?"

"You can't tell anybody you saw me here."

"Why not? Like I said, it was a good show."

"That's not the issue. I just don't want my family to come up here and embarrass me."

Ryoga shifted his weight back and forth from one foot to the other. "All right."

"Good." Nabiki smiled and took another drink. "Say, Ryoga-kun, do you have somewhere to stay tonight?"

"Oh, well, it's not raining," he said thoughtfully, putting one finger to his chin. "So I'll just make camp, like usual."

"Fine, then." Nabiki quickly downed the rest of her beer and set the bottle back on the bar, making an audible clang. "Barkeep, let the others know I went home. See ya."

She hopped down off the stool with a cool smile, giving Ryoga a wave over her shoulder without turning back as she walked away. Ryoga watched as she left the bar, frowning in confusion. 

The bartender, wiping out a glass, looked over at Ryoga from across the bar. "Hibiki."

"What?"

"You're kind of an idiot, huh?"

* * *

The night sky was clear as Nabiki walked back to the boarding house. When she arrived, she noticed the manager, Tadashi Okonai, leaning against the front wall a few feet away from the door, smoking. He was a buff looking man in his thirties, sporting two day old scruff and a bad haircut that was longer in the back than it was in the front. He gave Nabiki a tired look with his bloodshot eyes.

"Tendo. Welcome back."

"Tacchan. Can I bum one?"

He pulled his cigarette pack out of his pocket, shaking one loose and handing it to her. She smiled and placed it between her lips and he bent over to light it for her, the lighter itself clicking a few times before he could get the flame going. 

She took a deep drag before exhaling a plume of smoke into the dark sky. "Ah, my sister would kill me if she saw me doing this."

"She'll be back tomorrow, right?"

"Mm."

"Be careful when you use the bathroom. There's a leak in the ceiling right above the toilet."

"Are you going to fix it?"

"I tried. But number three had their stove go out, and number two said they think number one has a peephole into their room."

"Work never stops, does it?"

"It sure doesn't," he grunted. "You know you and your sister are the only ones who pay rent on time?"

"We're responsible people."

"At least somebody is." He finished his cigarette and flicked it on the ground, stubbing out the last embers with his foot. "I hate this job."

"The last manager hated it too."

"Did she? She seemed happy enough."

"Well, she got married and had kids. Apparently, that's what makes people happy these days. I don't understand it."

"Marriage not for you then, Tendo?"

"Absolutely not," she replied. "I leave all the falling in love stuff to my sisters. They're better at it."

"Well, fair enough. Men can be a nightmare to deal with. I know I sure am."

She laughed. "I've seen worse."

"Doubtful." He yawned and stretched his arms out to his sides. "Well, I'm gonna turn in. I'll get on the bathroom leak tomorrow. Try to keep your head dry tonight."

"I'll do my best."

Nabiki flashed him a smirk as he nodded and headed indoors. Then it was just her, her cigarette, and the dull glow of the porch light as she stared up at the stars.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> spotify plalist, because I like making them:
> 
> https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5rJyA4thMp7NMCo66C6WHP?si=xy9fisnYRtqO8AbGRjmYaQ


	2. Week Two

_ Sunday _

"You didn't have to come walk me home."

"I wasn't doing anything else." Nabiki walked alongside her sister as they left the train station. The trees along the street were already starting to change colors. Although the leaves were still mostly green, the tips of the branches were starting to fade to yellow and a few were even orange. Weather was still warm, but fall was clearly on its way. 

"Well thanks anyway. Did you do anything exciting while I was gone?"

"Not really. Oh, well, I ran into Ryoga-kun. Lost again."

"Really? I haven't seen him in a while. How is he?"

"His girlfriend broke up with him."

"Seriously? Ah, poor thing. I thought they were well matched."

"Apparently not."

"I hope he's okay. Ryoga-kun takes everything so seriously."

"True," said Nabiki. "He's a very depressing guy."

"Nabiki!"

"It's true! I don't know how such a happy-go-lucky guy like Ranma is even friends with him."

"They balance each other out. Besides, they're more alike than you think."

"Are they?" Nabiki frowned and stuck her hands in the pockets of her windbreaker. That wasn't what she wanted to hear at all. That realization gave her pause. Wait, what did she want to hear? Certainly nothing about Ranma.

Yet that was all Akane talked about for the rest of their walk. What she and Ranma had done that weekend. How Ranma’s classes were going. How Ranma was surprisingly good at entertaining Mirai, willing to play peekaboo for hours on end, even though the baby was just barely old enough to smile. Whatever insane cake or pastry Ranma had baked for dessert on Saturday, and how he was thinking of entering an actual baking competition, and not even a martial arts based one. 

By the time they got to the front door of the boarding house, Nabiki felt like she was going to throw up.

Nabiki paused in the entryway, leaning over and bracing herself on Akane's shoulder as she took off her shoes.

"Anyway, Nabiki--" Akane didn't react to her sister bearing her weight on her. "I wished you had come home this weekend. Everyone misses you."

"They just saw me a week ago." Nabiki relaxed back onto her heels and stepped up, heading towards the stairs. Akane followed after her.

"Still, I think Dad is depressed having none of his kids around."

"He's got Ranma, doesn't he?"

Nabiki stuck her key in the lock. Jiggled the door.

"I don't think he and Dad get along very well," Akane said thoughtfully, unlocking her own door. "He still thinks Ranma is defiling me every night."

"Isn't he?" Nabiki asked, smirking and pushing the door open. It pleased her to see her sister blush deeply.

"Well, he's the one who wanted us to get married!"

"And congratulations, you fulfilled our father's deepest wish. Lucky you."

Without bothering to look at Akane's reaction, Nabiki entered her room, slamming the door behind her.

With a sigh, she sunk down on her bed. She didn’t know why she kept acting this way. After all, hadn’t she been the one to get them married? To pull a bunch of strings, call in a truckload of favors, and ensure that Akane and Ranma would get their happily ever after?

It was like a piece of hard candy that after you sucked all the sugar coating off, had a sour inside. Now she wanted to spit it out and forget about it, but it was stuck to her teeth.

She fell over to her side, clutching her pillow underneath her head. Why was it so hard to be nice?

* * *

_ Monday _

“Hey, Nabiki?”

Akane looked up from where she had been sitting on the end of Nabiki’s bed, her notebook spread open as she studied for an upcoming exam. The small boombox on Nabiki’s bureau played pop music at a low volume. She had opened the window to the room, as the temperature outside had dropped below the insufferable summer highs, but had not quite yet descended to the potential chilly lows of autumn.

“Yeah?” asked Nabiki from her seat at the desk. She spun around to face her sister. 

“You know, I was thinking. About what you said last week, about me needing to be more independent.”

“Oh? What about it?”

“Well--” Akane fidgeted, tapping her pencil against her palm. “I have my rent paid up for the next couple months, but the money from the wedding is running out. And Ranma said he has no problem sending me money if I needed it, but--”

“You’re not trying to borrow money from me, are you?” Nabiki asked, smirking. 

“No! I just--well--I was hoping you could help me find a job.”

“A job? You’ve never had a job a day in your life.”

“Neither have you!” Akane replied defensively.

“Are you kidding? I ran my own small business.”

“Selling dirty pictures of your family and friends isn’t a small business,” Akane said, crossing her arms. “Besides, I used to help out at the clinic in junior high.”

“But that wasn’t really a job. It was mostly you trailing after Tofu-sensei like a lovesick puppy.”

“Still,” Akane muttered. She let out a puff of air, blowing her bangs up and away from her face. “I’m not afraid of hard work.”

Nabiki tilted her head slightly, smiling. “Well, I can’t deny that. I’ll help you find something.”

Akane’s expression immediately brightened. “Really? Thanks, Nabiki!”

“Of course, I will expect a five percent cut of your paycheck, as a recruiting fee.”

“Of course,” Akane grumbled. “Should’ve expected that.”

Nabiki snapped her schoolbook shut. “You really should have.”

* * *

_ Tuesday _

“Nabiki!”

Mamoru, sprinting across the green campus lawn, skidded to a stop on his heels as Nabiki reached the bottom step of the stairs that led to the science building. He straightened up and tried to look nonchalant, but he was panting slightly, his face flushed.

“Mamo-chan,” Nabiki said, placing one hand on her hip. “This seems familiar.”

“I just wanted to make sure you’re coming to band practice tonight?”

“Oh? Why would I do that?”

“We have another show in two weeks!”

“And this is my problem how?”

“Nabiki, we need you!” He put his hands together in a prayer position and bowed forward slightly, his bleached hair falling down into his face.

"I believe I fulfilled my end of the bargain." 

She shifted her backpack over one shoulder and began to walk away.

"Wait!" He called after her. "This time we're getting paid!"

She turned around on one foot, raising an eyebrow. "Now you've caught my attention. This is a paid show?"

Mamoru nodded. "Yep. Same place. The owner said we did such a great job that he is going to pay us next time."

"How much?"

"Well--" Mamoru scratched his chin. "After splitting it three ways, two thousand yen each."

"That's nothing," Nabiki said flatly. "What am I supposed to do with that?"

"What if--I give you my share? So that will be four thousand yen for you."

"That's still less than last time."

"Fine, forget it," Mamoru grumbled. "Maybe I'll just ask your sister instead."

Nabiki clenched her jaw, but tried not to let it show. "Akane? What makes you think she would be interested?"

"She can sing pretty good too, can't she? And besides, I heard she's looking for work."

"Ah, but she's a married woman," sighed Nabiki. "She spends nearly every weekend with her husband. So, alas, I guess you're stuck with me."

Mamoru blinked. "Really?"

"Really. I'll see you at band practice."

“Great!”

“And I still want that four thousand yen.”

“Of course.”

* * *

_ Thursday _

“So, you start Monday.”

Akane and Nabiki stood in the entryway of the boarding house, taking their shoes off. They had walked home together after class, and Nabiki had given Akane the news that a cafe just off campus was looking for a new waitress.

“Thank you so much, Nabiki! I can’t wait.”

“Tendo.” Tadashi spoke up from where he was bent over on his knees on the floor, elbow deep in the open grate of a heating vent. “You got a package.”

With his free hand, he slid a box wrapped in brown paper across the wood over to her. She bent over to pick it up, flipping it over, slipping her finger underneath the edge of the packaging, tearing it open. It revealed a white gift box, which she lifted the top off of and then set the bottom part of the package inside it. There were a few paper shavings that she poked through to reveal a small wooden doll. Peg-shaped, no individual arms or legs, with a painted on face that had big brown eyes and tiny red lips. The wooden head of the doll had hair carved into a chin length bob with bangs that angled down in the middle.

“A kokeshi?” asked Akane, looking over Nabiki’s shoulder. “Where is that from?”

There was a white piece of paper folded and tucked into the side of the box. Nabiki set the doll back inside and looked at the note.

_ This made me think of you. _

_ \--Ryoga Hibiki _

A tiny, tiny smile pulled at the corners of Nabiki’s mouth. Akane noticed the expression even though it lasted only a second before it turned into Nabiki’s usual sardonic smirk.

Picking the doll up and holding it in her fist, she turned back to Akane, eyebrows raised. 

“Guess he made it to Kyoto after all.”

* * *

_ Friday _

“Ranma!”

Akane took a giant leap out of her shoes from the front door of the Tendo household, throwing her arms around her husband and wrapping her legs around his waist. He caught her easily, even as he fell backwards onto the stairs as they kissed. 

“Hello, Nabiki, how are you?” Soun asked wearily, silent tears streaming down his face as he stood near the entrance to the hallway.

“I’m doing great, Daddy, how are you?” Nabiki replied, dropping her bag on top of her shoes. 

Ranma had already stood up again, and was walking backwards up the stairs, Akane still wrapped around him, his hands under her thighs, lips locked. 

“Not great,” said Soun.

“Don’t worry, Daddy, they have to stop acting like newlyweds eventually.” Nabiki walked past him down the hallway into the living room as he followed. 

“Eventually can’t come soon enough,” he moaned miserably.

Nodoka, Genma, and Kasumi were sitting around the table as she entered. Baby Mirai was tucked into her carrier, cooing softly as Kasumi gently rocked her back and forth. 

“Oh, Nabiki!” Nodoka said in mild surprise. “I didn’t know you were coming home this weekend.”

“Well, I didn’t have any other plans,” Nabiki said, crossing her legs elegantly as she sat down. 

Nodoka looked up past her to the doorway. “And you’re here too, Ryoga-kun! Just in time for dinner!”

Nabiki whipped her head around to see Ryoga standing behind her, rucksack on his back. He dropped it to the floor and took a seat next to her. He gave a slight bow to Nodoka.

“Thank you. I would like to stay.”

“I thought you were in Kyoto,” Nabiki said, attempting to hide her shock. 

“I was,” he replied. “But somehow I ended up here again.”

“How fast can you move?”

He shrugged.

“Well, Ryoga-kun,” said Soun, taking his seat at the head of the table. “Now that you’re here, perhaps Ranma and Akane will be able to fill their time with other activities besides disrespecting me in my own house.”

Ryoga gave him a confused glance. “What do you mean?”

Nabiki leaned over and whispered in his ear what Ranma and Akane were up to. He blushed furiously, staring down at the table. 

“You mean right now?!”

“Mmm-hmm,” Nabiki answered with a giggle. “So you can understand why Daddy is so distressed.”

“I guess.”

“You guess what?” A cheery looking Ranma breezed into the room, plopping down on the other side of Ryoga.

“Oh? Finished already?” asked Nabiki.

“Ranma was just helping me put my things away,” Akane said as she entered the room. She also took a seat, next to Mirai. 

“Is that what they’re calling it?” Nabiki responded. “Still, seems pretty speedy, even for you, Ranma.”

“Well, what can I say,” Ranma said, grinning. “Sometimes when you’re good at something, you don’t need a lot of time to get it done.”

Akane blushed and attempted to focus her attention on her baby niece.

“What an ego,” sighed Ryoga.

Ranma shrugged. “Can’t help it if I’m good at everything.”

“Not everything,” said Ryoga.

“Oh yeah? Name one thing.”

“Math,” Akane said.

“I’m plenty good at math,” Ranma retorted. “I passed, didn’t I?”

“You dropped out of school.”

“I  _ was _ passing,” Ranma emphasized. “So there, I am good at math.”

“Oh?” Nabiki asked. “Then tell me, what’s sixty-seven times fourteen?”

“Very funny, nobody can multiply big numbers in their head like that.”

“Nine hundred thirty-eight,” Akane said, wiggling her fingers at Mirai.

Ranma blinked at her in shock. Then he narrowed his gaze, glaring at Nabiki. “Oh, I get it. This is a setup.”

“Hardly,” she replied. “Go ahead, ask one yourself.”

He pursed his lips petulantly. “Twenty-seven times thirty-two.”

“Eight hundred sixty-four,” Nabiki replied instantly.

Ranma’s jaw dropped. Then he closed his mouth, opened it again, and shot out another one.

“Eighty-five times forty-six!”

“Three thousand nine hundred ten,” Akane said.

“Fifty-one times eighteen!”

“Nine hundred eighteen,” said Nabiki, growing a bit bored.

Ranma turned to Ryoga in distress. “Can you do that?”

His friend shook his head. “Definitely not.”

“All right,” Ranma slammed his palms on the table, his shoulders tensing with energy. “Six thousand three hundred twenty-five times four hundred fifty seven!”

Both Akane and Nabiki paused for a second, thinking. Before either of them could answer, Kasumi said gently, “Two million eight hundred ninety thousand five hundred twenty-five.”

Akane and Nabiki nodded in agreement, with Ranma again left gaping in surprise. “You mean all of you can do that?”

Soun smiled proudly. “A trait they picked up from their mother.”

“Akane.” Ranma turned to his wife, a look of distress on his face. “Our kids are gonna be nerds!”


	3. Week Three

_Tuesday_

When band practice finally ended, it was late. Ami begged Nabiki to stay late and have a drink, hang out watching movies, but Nabiki refused as she had an early class the next day. Reluctantly, her bandmates let her go, but she promised she would be at practice on Thursday. 

The boarding house was dark and uncharacteristically quiet as she entered. She tried to maintain the quiet as she forced her door open and entered her room. She changed into more comfortable clothes, cotton shorts and a big t-shirt, and fell into bed. 

Only moments after she closed her eyes, she heard it.

Akane, screaming, bolting awake in her creaky bed. A pause. Sobbing.

Nabiki pulled her legs up to her chest under her blankets, tried to keep her eyes shut, pressing her ear into her pillow, covering the other ear with her hand. 

She could still hear it. Akane was definitely trying to muffle it somehow. Maybe she had her hand over her mouth, or her face in her own pillow. It only softened the sound, but it was still there. 

Nabiki took a deep breath. Sat up, letting her legs fall over the edge of the bed. Stood, her bare feet cold on the wooden floor. Picked up her pillow. Walked over to her door, pulled it open with a heave. Went over to Akane’s door. Didn’t knock, just tested the knob. Of course her sister had left it open.

“Nabiki?” 

It was dark, but the distant light of streetlamps glowing through the window pane provided enough visibility for her to be able to see Akane, sitting up in bed in surprise.

“Scoot over.”

Nabiki walked over to her sister’s bed, throwing her pillow down, and climbing under the covers as Akane moved closer to the wall. 

“I’m sorry,” said Akane. “Did I wake you?”

Nabiki laid on her side, and Akane moved herself downward in bed to do the same as they faced each other. 

“Yeah,” Nabiki replied. “It’s okay though.”

“I don’t mean to be like this,” Akane said. “I think it’s getting better, though.”

“I hope so.” Nabiki looked at her sister, whose face was mostly shadow in the dim light. “Hey, Akane.”

“Yes?”

“Do you remember, when we were kids, after mom died? One of us would have a bad dream and then come sleep in the other’s bed, just like this.”

“I remember.” Nabiki could almost hear Akane smile. “Sometimes Kasumi too. All three of us together.”

“And I always ended up squashed in the middle.”

They giggled together. Nabiki found her sister’s hands. They were small and warm. 

"I really am getting better," Akane murmured, her voice sleepy.

"I know," Nabiki said. "I know."

* * *

_Friday_

"I got fired."

Akane looked despondent as Nabiki walked her to the train station.

"For what?"

"Dropping too many plates," Akane mumbled, avoiding eye contact. 

"Aren't you a martial artist? How can you be so clumsy?"

"Fighting is different than waiting tables!" Akane said defensively.

"Well what are you going to do now?"

They paused at the entrance to the station. Akane gave her a pleading smile.

"I was hoping you could, maybe, find me something else?"

Nabiki sighed. "All right. For a ten percent cut this time."

Akane looked furious, but agreed. They said their goodbyes, and Nabiki began the walk home. For some reason, when she got to the front door, and didn't see the familiar silhouette of a man with a hulking rucksack and open umbrella, she felt a little disappointed.

* * *

Their show was on Friday this time, instead of Saturday, so after the train station Nabiki changed quickly and headed to the bar. Mamoru and Ami were waiting, their equipment already set up on stage.

"Nabiki, come on, we gotta do sound check."

She took her place behind the microphone. Adjusted the height of the stand lower. Spoke one word and halted due to blaring feedback. They adjusted the levels, tuning the equipment, playing a few random bars of songs until everything sounded satisfactory.

As the attendees for the night began to flow into the room, Nabiki took a deep breath. 

Started the show.

* * *

"Thank you!"

With a flushed and smiling face, Nabiki took a deep bow on stage. Everyone was applauding and cheering. There was certainly a bigger crowd than the last time. Maybe the word had gotten out about how actually good they were. For a second, she imagined getting signed by a big record label, her name in lights, but most importantly, the money in her bank account.

She shook her head and stepped off stage. Too risky. Not worth taking a chance. But playing here, in a rinky dink dive bar, well, it would do for now.

She slipped through the quieting crowd, and around the wall into the actual bar itself. After having to squeeze past a particularly brawny man, she lost sight of where she was going.

And ran smack into Ryoga.

He dropped the bin of dishes he was carrying, although he managed to skillfully catch it with his foot before it hit the ground. If only Akane had learned how to do that, she might still have a job.

"Sorry, sorry," Ryoga muttered as he popped the bin back up into his arms. He looked down. "Oh. Nabiki."

"Ryoga," Nabiki said, trying not to look surprised. "Here again?"

He shrugged, the plates in the bin clinking together with the motion. "I got lost before I could work off my debt last time."

"So I assume you saw my show again?"

"I did." He actually smiled, baring his teeth. "You guys were even better this time!"

"Thanks," replied Nabiki, perplexed by his earnestness. "And also, I didn't tell you last time, thanks for the gift."

"Gift?"

"The kokeshi? From Kyoto?"

"Oh. Well, I owed it to you. You were kind enough to prevent me sleeping in the mud, after all."

"Well," Nabiki said, smiling and pushing past him. "If you ever find yourself finding the ground too uncomfortable, my floor is always open. Free of charge."

She didn't turn around to look at his reaction. 


	4. Week Four

_Thursday_

“Tutoring?”

Akane sat at the end of Nabiki’s bed, drinking from a can of coffee.

“Sure,” Nabiki said, leaning back in her desk chair. “You like teaching, don’t you?”

“I guess so,” Akane replied. “But I’m only a first year. Do people really want tutors in their first year?”

“Remember how Ranma said your kids are gonna grow up to be nerds?”

Akane frowned. “Yeah.”

“Well, he’s probably right. You’ve very smart, nearly as smart as me, anyway. Who doesn’t want a math genius as a tutor?”

Akane took a sip of her coffee. “I suppose.”

“Great. Got your first student booked for tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow?” Akane whined. “But I was gonna skip my last class and go home early.”

“Do you want the gig or not?”

Akane shuffled her feet awkwardly. “Yeah, okay. I guess I can call Ranma and ask if he wants to come up to visit.”

Nabiki grimaced inwardly, but showed Akane nothing but a smile. “See? It all works out.”

* * *

_Friday_

"Ranma!"

Akane was only halfway down the flight of stairs when she jumped high and threw her arms around her husband. He caught her with a smile and spun around before setting her down on the floor of the boarding house entryway. 

"Hello Ranma." Nabiki, still on the stairs, smiled. "And I see you've brought an additional guest."

Ryoga, looking tired, stood next to Ranma, wearing his pack. He gave Nabiki a small wave.

"Oh yeah, found this guy wandering around outside. Supposed to rain tonight so I brought him here," Ranma said, grinning.

"Don't talk about me like I'm a lost dog," Ryoga growled.

"Aren't you?"

"Ranma, be nice," Akane chided him.

"I am," Ranma replied indignantly. "Anyway, Nabiki, you don't mind if he stays on your floor again? He said he did that before."

"Why not with you two?"

Ranma and Akane shared a glance before he turned back to Nabiki with a salacious grin. "I mean, you know, we have plans--"

"Fine," Nabiki said before Ranma could expand on what those plans entailed.

"Thanks Nabiki you're the best!" Akane said as she pulled Ranma by the hand up the stairs, squeezing past Nabiki. They disappeared into her room, giggling.

Nabiki looked down at Ryoga. "So, you wanna watch a movie or something?"

"Sure."

* * *

Nabiki had a small, thirteen inch television on top of her bureau. It wasn't much, but she did have cable, and it was color. The console even put out a good amount of heat. Which might have actually been dangerous, but it seemed helpful during the winter. 

There was a made for television drama airing on Fuji that she had been mildly interested in seeing, so she took a seat on her bed and angled the television so both she and Ryoga could watch, even though he remained seated on the floor.

The movie had only barely started when there came a squeaking sound from behind the wall next to them.

Ryoga scrunched up his face. "Is that--"

"Yep."

Nabiki turned the volume up on the television. It managed to cover up most of the noise, and by the time the movie was over, the squeaking had stopped.

"Aah," said Nabiki with a relieved smile. "Shall we go to sleep?"

"Sure."

Politely, they changed, their backs to each other. Nabiki climbed back into bed and turned off the light, Ryoga lying on the floor. 

As soon as she closed her eyes, the squeaking started again. She put a pillow over her face and tried to ignore it. But the sound kept going, getting louder and louder, and was soon accompanied by other, more lustful sounds, although thankfully those were softer.

"Do they know they're that loud?" Ryoga asked from his place on the floor, lying flat on his back and staring up at the ceiling.

Nabiki removed the pillow from her face and let out a deep breath. "I think they do. Which is why they start out so quiet. And then they just get carried away."

The sounds from next door continued as she, too, stared up at the dark ceiling, wide awake. And then she heard something else, something unfamiliar, low and coming from the ground.

It was Ryoga. He was laughing.

She hadn't heard him laugh much before. At least not like this. A deep, genuine, throaty chuckle that slowly grew in intensity. 

She started giggling herself. The sound of her laughter made him laugh harder, and that in turn made her laugh harder as well, until they were both holding their stomachs, tears in their eyes, letting out big belly laughs in the dark.

The sounds from next door suddenly stopped, and their laughter faded with it.

"Do you think--do you think they heard us laughing?" Ryoga asked.

"Let's hope so," Nabiki replied.

The two of them started laughing again, and Nabiki never remembered when they stopped. She only knew that they must have, at one point, when she fell asleep.

* * *

_Saturday_

_Knock, knock._

Nabiki reluctantly opened her eyes. The sun was up at least. She peered down at the floor. Ryoga was still there, snoring softly underneath the blanket.

_Knock, knock._

Nabiki yawned and stood up, stepping over Ryoga to answer the door. It opened with little effort for once to reveal Ranma, dressed in jogging clothes.

"Yo! Good morning!"

"Mmph," she grunted.

"Listen, me and Akane were gonna go out for breakfast. You guys wanna come?"

Nabiki blinked, struggling to keep her eyelids open. She shrugged.

Ranma gave her a friendly smile. "I'll pay."

"You got it then." She looked back over her shoulder. "Oh, I guess I should wake up Ryoga and ask him."

"Yo, Ryoga!" Ranma shouted over her head into the room.

At the sound of his name, Ryoga bolted upright, blinking furiously. "What? Who dares?"

"You wanna get breakfast with us? On me."

The tension in Ryoga's shoulders relaxed. "Yeah, all right."

"Great," Ranma said. "One more thing."

"Yes?" asked Nabiki.

"Were you guys laughing at us last night?"

"Oh yeah definitely," Nabiki answered without hesitation, Ryoga nodding sleepily in the background.

Ranma tilted his head to the side thoughtfully. "Fair enough, I guess. Just don't mention it to Akane, please?"

"Two thousand yen," Nabiki replied out of pure reflex. 

More amused than annoyed, Ranma pulled the coins out of his pocket and dropped them into her waiting hand.

"Meet you downstairs in a few."

"You got it."

The four of them decided on a diner just outside of campus. It mostly served American style food, but Nabiki was starving and in the mood for something greasy. She and Akane sat on one side of the booth, Ranma and Ryoga on the other. Akane started talking about how her first tutoring session went, and that led to Ranma griping about one of his students, some guy in his mid twenties that didn't like that his instructor was younger than him. This reminded Nabiki of a scene from the movie the night before, and she ended up recapping the entire plot, with Akane and Ranma giving her their rapt attention. Ryoga chimed in, repeating some of his favorite lines, and his impressions were surprisingly good.

"Nabiki!"

Mamoru had entered the diner with a small group of friends, but was currently walking over to their table. He stood at the edge and rested his fingertips on the tabletop.

"We're having a special practice tonight. You're coming, right?"

"Practice?" Akane asked, looking at her sister.

"I, uh--" Nabiki fumbled.

"Tennis practice, isn't it?" Ryoga said, casually looking up from his plate.

Nabiki caught his eye and smiled. "Yeah, tennis."

Mamoru blinked. "What? I meant--"

Ryoga stretched his leg out from underneath the table and started applying pressure to the top of Mamoru's foot with his own, making sure to squeeze the bones just enough. The only one who could see what was happening was Nabiki, who felt a flutter of gratitude in her chest.

"Yeah," Mamoru yelped through his pain. "Tennis practice."

"Tennis? In the fall?" asked Akane.

"You know what they say," Nabiki said, smiling. "Practicing in cold weather helps improve your muscle growth."

"Oh yeah, that's true," Ranma said, taking a bite of his pancakes.

"Really?" asked Akane. "I never knew."

 _I never knew either_ , thought Nabiki. She looked over at Ranma and when Akane wasn't looking, he winked at her.

Covering up her confusion, she turned back to Mamoru. "Yes, Mamo-chan. I will be there."

Ryoga released the pressure he had kept on the other boy's foot and Mamoru winced with relief.

"Great. I'll see you. At tennis practice."

He turned and limped away back to his friends. Nabiki looked across the table at Ryoga who was smiling triumphantly. Nabiki nodded and returned the smile and they held eye contact for several moments.

This, Akane did notice, and as she looked back and forth between the two of them, a smile of her own crossed her face.


	5. Week Five

_ Thursday _

“Tendo. Package.”

“Again?” Akane looked over as the manager handed Nabiki another package once they entered the boarding house.

“I guess so,” Nabiki replied. Once again, she removed the brown paper covering the box, lifted the lid. Settled in tissue paper was a small blue and white walkman, and attached to it, a large pair of noise cancelling headphones in neon pink. She picked them up, letting the cord dangle loosely back into the box as she examined them. There was a note tucked into the side, just like there had been the last time.

_ Thought you might need these next time Ranma visits.  _

_ \--Ryoga Hibiki _

Nabiki covered her mouth with one hand, attempting to stifle her laughter. 

Akane looked over her sister’s shoulder. “From Ryoga-kun again.”

Nabiki quickly shut the box and held it to her chest. “Yep.”

Without another word, she headed upstairs to her room. Akane stayed behind for a moment, not upset, but smiling up after her sister, genuinely happy.

* * *

_ Saturday _

“Hey, Ranma.”

Akane had returned to their room in the Tendo household after her bath and took a seat on their bed, drying the ends of her hair with a towel.

“What’s up?” Ranma replied from his position on the floor, performing his nighttime sit ups. 

“I think--I think Nabiki likes Ryoga.”

Ranma froze in the up position, staring at his wife briefly before bursting into laughter. 

“Nabiki?” he said, standing up, still laughing. “And Ryoga?”

“Yeah, what’s funny about that?” Akane demanded.

“Well, I mean--” Ranma shrugged, still smirking. “Nabiki, the ice queen? And Ryoga, who is, you know, Ryoga? I seriously doubt it.”

“I think they would be cute together,” Akane said, sticking out her bottom lip slightly.

“And I think you’re cute when you pout,” said Ranma, leaning down to kiss her. 

She let him, once, and then pulled away. “I’m serious! I really think she likes him.”

“Are you kidding? He’s poor as shit.”

“Ranma!”

“Well he is.” Ranma sat next to her on the bed, snaking his arm around her waist. “And there’s literally only one thing Nabiki cares about.”

“She cares about other things,” muttered Akane. She held her towel in her lap. “And he did give her a couple of presents.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah. Wait!” Akane turned to her husband, smiling. “Do you think he likes her too?”

“I really, really doubt it,” sighed Ranma. “She’s not exactly his type.”

“What is his type?”

“Well, you are.” 

“Ranma!” Akane replied indignantly. “I thought you weren’t jealous of him anymore.”

“I’m not. We got married, didn’t we? So I won.”

“I’m not a prize,” Akane grumbled. 

“Sure you are.” He leaned over, crossing his other arm over her stomach, trying to draw her close. 

“Ranma, don’t flirt, I’m trying to be serious!” But she only halfheartedly tried to push him away. “Ryoga-kun has liked other girls that aren’t like me anyway! Like Akari. Or even you, when you were trying to trick him.”

Ranma sighed. “I guess that’s true.”

“So you agree? It’s possible?”

“If I say yes, will you start making out with me already?”

“Fine.”

“Then, maybe, yes, in some crazy, out there, upside-down, parallel universe, there is a tiny sliver of a chance that Ryoga likes your sister. Happy?”

“Yes, actually.” She brought her mouth up to meet his, running one hand up his chest. 

“And besides,” Ranma said, when they came up for air. “You could always just ask him.”

“That,” Akane said, as she lifted herself up to straddle his lap. “Is a brilliant idea.”

“What can I say?” Ranma shrugged, grinning up at her. “I’m a genius.”


	6. Week Six

_ Sunday _

“An opening!”

Ranma and Akane yelled in unison, sending a double kick into Ryoga’s stomach. He hit the floor of the dojo, groaning loudly. Somehow, he had ended up back at the Tendo household earlier this morning, and had foolishly agreed to a sparring match with the Anything Goes power couple. 

“We won!” Ranma and Akane shouted, simultaneously again. They clasped hands in victory as Ryoga glared up at them from the floor. 

“Come on, Ryoga-kun, get up, it’s almost time for dinner.”

“Fine, fine,” he grumbled, standing up and rubbing his sore lower back. “I guess I could eat.”

As he headed towards the door, Akane jumped in front of him. “Wait! One more thing.”

“What is it?”

Akane looked over Ryoga’s shoulder at Ranma, who frowned and shook his head. Akane stuck her tongue out at him briefly and then turned back to Ryoga.

“I just wanted to ask you something.”

“Go ahead.”

“What do you--what do you think of Nabiki?”

“Nabiki?” Ryoga blinked. “Your sister?”

“You know another Nabiki?”

“I guess not.” Ryoga scratched his chin and looked up at the ceiling.

“Well?"

“Well, what?”

“What do you think of her?” Akane tried to restrain her exasperation

“Oh, well. She’s kind of--scary, I guess.”

“Scary?” repeated Akane, disappointed. “You don’t think anything nice about her?”

“Ah--she is pretty smart.”

“She is, isn’t she?” Akane clenched her fists in front of her chest excitedly. “What else?”

“She’s good at money? Making money?”

“That’s true too!” Akane said in agreement. “Anything else?”

“Uh--” Ryoga frowned, his eyes searching the room. “Uh--”

Akane sighed. Behind Ryoga, Ranma rolled his eyes. 

“Well,” Akane said morosely. “Do you at least think she’s pretty?”

“Yes,” Ryoga replied. 

This brought a smile back to Akane’s face. “Really?”

The dojo door opened, Ranma’s mother standing behind it. 

“Time for dinner, you three.”

“Right, we’re coming.”

Akane let Ryoga leave first, and she grabbed Ranma’s hand eagerly as they left together. She looked up at him with a big grin and raised eyebrows, while he just frowned and shook his head. 

* * *

“You see, you see?” Akane said as she and Ranma climbed into bed that night. “He thinks she’s pretty.”

“I don’t know, Akane,” Ranma said, as he leaned back against the pillows. “Your sister is, you know, objectively attractive.”

“You think so?” 

“Oh, don’t get jealous. I’m not attracted to her,” Ranma said, rolling his eyes. “Just, objectively. She’s a nice looking girl.”

“Hmm.” Akane’s shoulders sank. “Is that all it is? Ryoga-kun just thinks she’s objectively pretty?”

His wife looked so disappointed, Ranma decided to throw her a bone. “Well--”

“Well?”

“Well, you know when you asked him if he thought she was pretty, he said yes.”

“I know, but what if it’s like you said--”

“He said yes right away,” Ranma said. “No hesitation.”

“So?”

“So,” Ranma said, smiling and putting his arm around her. “It means he’s thought about it before.”

The light came back into Akane’s eyes. “Really?”

“Really.”

“Oh, Ranma, that’s so great! We have to help them get together!”

“Are you kidding? Didn’t you hate it when our parents meddled with us?’

“Yeah, but that all worked out! We’re married and we’re so happy!”

“We are pretty happy,” he said, smiling and planting a kiss on her neck. 

“So you’ll help me, then?”

“I will not,” Ranma said, moving his lips upwards to the corner of her jaw. “But I won’t stop you either.”

“I’ll take it,” she giggled. “You’re the best husband ever.”

“I’ll remember you said that next time you’re mad at me.”

* * *

_ Friday _

“That’s it, done!” 

Ryoga grinned and set the dish towel that had been slung over one of his shoulders on top of the last bin of dirty dishes. He leaned on the bar and the owner raised one eyebrow.

“Oh, so you’ve finally finished your last shift, huh?’

“Yes, thank you for allowing me the opportunity to make up for my mistake,” Ryoga said, bowing his head slightly. 

“Ah, you’re such a serious guy,” the owner sighed. “Listen, if you ever want to actually make some money, instead of just paying off debt, you can fill in sometime. Whenever you’re in town.”

“Really?” Ryoga blinked.

“Yeah, you’re a pretty hard worker. Not like some of these college kids around here.” The owner pulled out a bottle of beer, opened it, and passed it across the bar to Ryoga. “Here. Go sit down, have a drink. On me.”

“Thanks.” Ryoga was a bit confused, but grateful. He picked up the bottle by its neck between his fingers and turned to walk over to a high-set table in the back of the room where the stage was. He wasn’t a big drinker, but it had been a long time since he had been able to relax. Taking one long sip of the beer, he let his eyes wander over the various modern art paintings and graffiti scribbled all over the wall. 

“Ryoga-kun?”

Nabiki had seemed to materialize next to the table when he wasn’t looking. He found his body going stiff.

“Nabiki? Are you singing here again?”

“Nah,” she said, smiling and climbing up into one of the tall chairs to join him. She set her own bottle of beer on the tabletop. “I’m here strictly as a guest tonight. Mamoru is having a solo performance.”

“Really? He’s singing?”

“Oh yes, and I can’t wait,” Nabiki said. “He’s quite bad.”

Ryoga laughed, which neither of them had expected to happen. He quickly cleared his throat. “Are you guys still doing the band thing?”

“Yep, we have another show next week,” Nabiki said. “And we’re getting paid almost decently--ten thousand yen each!”

“Congratulations.” Ryoga tipped his bottle of beer slightly in her direction. 

“By the way, Ryoga-kun, I’ve been meaning to thank you.”

“Me? For what?”

“For helping me out at the diner the other day.” 

He looked down at her. She was smirking, and her eyes were sparkling. How strong was this beer? “Ah, no problem. You said you didn’t want anyone to know. I know what it’s like to keep a secret.”

“Hmm,” she murmured playfully. “You didn’t happen to tell Ranma, did you?”

“Ranma? No, of course not. Why?”

“It just seemed like he knew.”

Ryoga shrugged. “Ranma can be perceptive, sometimes. Mostly only when you don’t want him to be.”

“If you say so.” It was Nabiki’s turn to laugh. She propped up her chin with one hand, resting her elbow on the table. “But you know what I absolutely don’t want to talk about? Is Ranma.”

“What would you like to talk about?”

“Oh, anything--have you made amends with your girlfriend, yet?”

“Akari?” Ryoga frowned deeply. Took a sip of his beer. “No. Haven’t talked to her at all.”

“Don’t you miss her?”

It was hard to read the expression on Nabiki’s face. “I miss my dog.”

Her eyebrows raised. “Your dog?”

“Yeah,” Ryoga nodded. Drank again. “She was with Akari, but she’s travelling with my mom right now.”

“Your mom?” asked Nabiki. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen your parents. What are they like?”

“Well--” He hesitated. “They’re a lot like me, I guess.”

“Bad sense of direction?” Nabiki was smirking again. “Depressed? Stubborn?”

“Yes,” he answered earnestly, like he always did when she teased him. “And martial artists, too.”

“Really? Both of them?”

“Yeah, but my mom is way better than my dad,” he replied.

“Is that so?”

“That’s actually how they met.” Ryoga smiled slightly, looking down at his beer. “They were both lost in the same forest, half-starved. They found a tree with a single apple growing. They fought over it, and my mom won.”

“Are you sure he didn’t let her win?”

“Nah, I’ve seen my dad fight. She definitely won,” Ryoga said, his smile turning into a wide grin. He finished the rest of his beer in one gulp. “Maybe where I got my thing for strong women.”

Nabiki frowned, but before she could say anything else, they were interrupted. 

“Hello!” Ami, her band mate, set three new bottles of beer on top of the table, and pulled a chair up. “Nabiki, I’m so excited you came out tonight! I almost thought you wouldn’t!”

“And miss Mamo-chan’s grand debut?” Nabiki winked and took a sip of her beer. “Never.”

“And who is this?” Ami rested both elbows on top of the table, intertwining her fingers under her chin and cradling her face as she grinned up at Ryoga. “I bought a beer for you too, handsome.”

“Ahh--” Ryoga looked down and found himself blushing. 

“This is Ryoga,” said Nabiki, trying to keep the sharpness out of her voice. “He’s my--sister’s friend.”

“Oh, is that so?” asked Ami, nearly purring. “How interesting.”

“Is it?” Ryoga replied in a high pitched voice. 

Their conversation was disrupted by a sudden blaring of feedback from the speakers. The trio winced in unison and looked up as Mamoru stumbled on stage, attempting to adjust the dials on his amp.

“Sorry about that,” he mumbled into the microphone, awkwardly taking a seat on a stool. “Anyway, I’d like to thank everyone for coming out tonight. I’m Mamoru, and I’m here to sing you a couple of songs.”

Nabiki and Ami clapped and let out loud whoops from the back of the room, while the rest of the attendees stared at him in silence. 

“All right, so I already have some fans in the crowd! Let’s get right into it! This first one’s an original, and it’s called, ‘My Heart is a Rotten Vegetable.’”

Mamoru began to play an upbeat riff on his guitar, which sounded quite good. And then he began to sing, and Nabiki had been right. He was bad. Ryoga pursed his lips and bit down on them, wrinkling his nose. Ami was straining to keep a supportive smile on her face, clutching the edge of the table, her knuckles white. Nabiki covered her mouth with one hand, hiding her imminent laughter. 

The song just kept going. Mamoru, despite being an adept and talented guitarist, seemed unable to translate any sense of key or tone to his singing voice. And the lyrics were borderline nonsensical, failing to even match the rhythm of the music. The audience was polite enough not to heckle, but the entire room let out a collective sigh of relief when Mamoru devolved into a lengthy guitar solo before finally ending the song.

There was a scattered round of applause, mostly out of gratitude that it was over. Mamoru took this as encouragement and beamed from onstage. 

“Thank you! Now, this next one is a little experimental--”

Ryoga would perhaps not have used the word ‘experimental.’ He would have used the word ‘awful,’ but he was actually starting to feel pity for the poor guy. Then again, at least he had the courage to get up there and do the thing. Maybe he was admirable after all. A stray thought struck him and he found himself smirking.

“You know what he sounds like?” he asked Nabiki.

“Dying cat? Rusty pipes? A balloon leaking air?” she whispered back miserably.

Ryoga shook his head, grinning. “You remember, the other night--”

He started to imitate the squeak of bed springs with an uncanny accuracy. Nabiki stared back at him wide eyed before bursting into a loud laugh. She quickly covered her mouth, although Mamoru hadn’t seemed to register the sound at all. She continued giggling behind her hand and Ryoga started laughing with her.

“What’s so funny?” asked Ami. “Tell me, I want to know!”

The two looked over at her, paused, and then kept laughing without answering.

* * *

Mamoru’s show finally ended. There weren’t many people left in the bar other than Ryoga, Ami, and Nabiki, and the ones that remained were pretty drunk. Mamoru hopped down off the stage and headed over to the three of them as the owner immediately began to play generic pop music over the sound system. 

“So what did you guys think?” asked Mamoru. 

They all hesitated.

“You’ve a very talented guitar player,” Ryoga said honestly. “Nice fingerpicking.”

“Thanks!” Mamoru smiled brightly. “Do you play?”

Ryoga waved a hand dismissively. “Only acoustic.”

Nabiki looked at him in shock. “You can play guitar?”

“Only acoustic,” he repeated. “And only a little. Not as well as Mamoru.”

“Well, I’d like to hear some more about it,” Mamoru said. 

“I wouldn’t,” piped up Ami. “Because I have to pee so bad. Nabiki, come with me.”

“Oh, that old cliche?” Nabiki asked, smirking. “Sure.”

The two girls left the boys to talk guitar and headed into the brightly lit, surprisingly clean bar bathroom. Nabiki stood in front of the mirror and adjusted her bangs. “So what did you want to talk about?”

Ami had disappeared into a stall, shutting the door loudly. “I actually had to pee!”

Nabiki frowned. “I thought this was a girl talk situation. Like, what are we gonna do about Mamoru?”

“Well we can’t ever let him sing at one of our band shows!” Ami replied from behind the door. “I can’t believe he really went up there and did that.”

“You gotta hand it to him, that level of self-confidence does mix well with the lack of self-awareness.”

“I’ll say.” Ami flushed the toilet and emerged from the stall, standing in front of the sink to wash her hands. “Men are just like that, I guess. Speaking of, Nabiki--”

Ami pulled paper towels from the dispenser and began to dry her hands.

“Hmm?”

“What’s Ryoga’s deal?”

Nabiki kept her face blank. This was what she originally suspected Ami was going to ask her when they went to the bathroom together. “Whatever do you mean?”

Ami looked ahead in the mirror, fluffing out her curly hair. “Is he single?”

“Yes,” replied Nabiki, surprised at how much that hurt to say. “But I don’t think the two of you would get along.”

“Oh? Why not? He’s cute. Seems sweet.”

“I guess.” Nabiki frowned. Ryoga was both of those things, unfortunately. “But he has a terrible sense of direction. And he--”

No. It wouldn’t be right to tell her about his curse. 

“He what?”

“He’s poor.”

Ami laughed. “So? Who cares about that?”

“I do,” said Nabiki. “What else can a man provide?”

“Nabiki, you’re hopeless,” Ami sighed. Noticing Nabiki wasn’t smirking like usual, Ami looked over at her in the mirror curiously. “Nabiki, you don’t--”

“I don’t like him, if that’s what you’re asking,” Nabiki said, feeling a sudden urge to turn on the faucet and wash her hands. She let the water run over her fingers for several seconds before just as suddenly turning it off and wiping her hands on the front of her skirt. 

“Are you sure?”

“I’m sure,” Nabiki snapped. “He’s my--ugh. He’s my sister’s husband’s best friend. Maybe her best friend, too. They have a whole weird relationship, I don’t know. They’re all weird.”

“Aw, I like your sister,” said Ami. 

“Yeah,” sighed Nabiki. “Everyone does.”

* * *

“About time, you two,” Mamoru grumbled as the girls rejoined him and Ryoga at the table. “I’m ready to go, I’m beat.”

“Me too, actually,” said Ami. “How about you, Ryoga-kun?”

“It is getting late,” he replied, standing up. 

“Do you have somewhere to stay?” Ami asked hopefully, making her eyes as large as possible. Nabiki crossed her arms and looked away.

“Well--” Ryoga pushed his chair in under the table. “Nabiki said her floor’s always open. Is that still true?”

Nabiki looked up at him in surprise. “Yeah. Of course.”

Ami looked back and forth at them smiling at each other and sighed. “I lost.” 

“Lost what?” Mamoru asked.

“Nothing,” Ami replied, taking him by the arm. “Let’s go. I have an idea for a new song.”

“Oh yeah?”

After Ryoga grabbed his pack from the back room, the foursome exited the bar and said their goodbyes, heading in different directions. There was a sharp chill in the air. Nabiki pulled her jacket tighter around her shoulders, but Ryoga seemed to be unaffected. 

“You know Ryoga-kun,” Nabiki said as they fell into step. “Ami likes you.”

“She does?” Ryoga stared straight ahead. “She doesn’t even know me.”

Nabiki watched his face carefully as they passed under a streetlight. He wasn’t smiling, although he rarely did. Was he blushing? It was hard to tell.

“Are you surprised? I thought she was being obvious.”

“Was she? I guess I had had something else on my mind.”

Nabiki looked straight ahead as well at the otherwise empty sidewalk. What the hell did that mean? “So what do you think of her?”

“She seemed--nice. Cute.”

Cute. Nabiki held back a frown. It shouldn’t matter to her one way or another if he thought she was cute. Ami was cute. And she was nice. She felt a twinge of guilt for telling Ami that they wouldn’t get along. They probably would get along. And they would even look good together. Maybe she should play matchmaker. It had been kind of fun to get Ranma and Akane together, after all, no matter how annoying they were as newlyweds. 

An image of Ryoga and Ami being as openly amorous as her sister and brother-in-law flashed through her mind and she suddenly had to fight the urge to vomit. 

“Nabiki?”

“What?”

“You haven’t said anything for a long time.”

“Guess I had something on my mind.”

They were near the boarding house now. Tadashi was on the sidewalk, smoking and looking up at the night sky. As Nabiki and Ryoga approached, he turned his face towards them and gave an exhausted smile. 

“Tendo. You’re home late.”

“Tacchan. You’re out late.”

He took a long drag on his cigarette. “The couple in number three are having it out. She apparently caught him writing love letters to another woman.”

“Love letters?” Nabiki scoffed. “Is that all?”

“Some people are romantics, Tendo,” Tadashi replied. He nodded his head to Ryoga. “Speaking of, is this the boyfriend?”

Ryoga furrowed his brow. “‘The’ boyfriend?”

“No,” Nabiki interjected. “And I don’t have any boyfriend. But he is going to sleep on my floor tonight.”

“If you can get any sleep with that racket.” Tadashi finished his cigarette. Threw the butt on the ground, squashed it with his toe. Immediately pulled out his cigarette pack and withdrew another one. “Want one, Tendo?”

She laughed nervously and held up one hand. “None for me, thanks!”

“You smoke?” Ryoga asked, looking down at her curiously. 

She held up one finger to her lips and winked at him. “Only when Akane’s not here. So don’t tell, okay?”

He nodded. “Another secret. Fine.”

“Glad you agree, now let’s go.” She gently pushed Ryoga towards the door of the boarding house. “Goodnight Tacchan!”

“Night.”

He wasn’t kidding about number three making a racket. As they entered through the front door, they could hear the yelling from the ground floor apartment at the end of the hallway. And the crying. And the begging. It didn’t seem to be violent, but it certainly seemed passionate. 

“Come on,” Nabiki said. “We’ll watch television or something till they quiet down.”

She had more trouble than usual jostling the door to her room open, and it slammed against the wall with a bang. The resident of number four was apparently awakened by this, and beat their fist a few times against their side of the wall in warning. 

“Seriously, that’s what wakes them up?” Nabiki murmured. “I doubted they ever slept at all.”

Ryoga gently set his rucksack in the corner and she pulled her night clothes out of her bureau. Back to him, she changed, not bothering to ask him to turn around. Part of her hoped he didn’t. With a deep breath she switched on her television and pressed the channel buttons, looking for anything even partially interesting that could be airing so late at night. 

“Ah, Godzilla!” she cried in excitement. “The original one!”

She angled the television back towards the bed and hopped on, stomach first, propping herself up on her elbows. Ryoga, having changed clothes himself, settled on the floor, leaning his back against the side of the bed. Nabiki ignored how close this meant their faces became and stretched her leg back, using her toe to switch off her desk lamp. 

“Godzilla?” Ryoga said. “You know, I’ve never actually seen it before.”

“What? It’s so good though!” Nabiki kept her eyes on the television, the black and white movie now the only source of light in the dark room. “Better than a lot of the newer ones, even.”

“Really?”

“Oh yeah. The only newer one I like is Godzilla vs. Biollante.”

“Biollante?” Ryoga blinked and turned to her. “Wait, Nabiki are you--are you a kaiju otaku?”

“What?!” Blushing, she sat straight up in bed as he turned around completely to face her. “No! Absolutely not!”

“You are, aren’t you?” He was grinning very wide and she didn’t know how to react. Ryoga teasing her was unthinkable. 

“I just like good movies!”

“Good movies about giant monsters!”

Nabiki grabbed one of her pillows and hid her face in it. “You can’t tell people!”

“What, why not?”

“It’s so nerdy! I’ll never live it down!”

He was laughing and she kept her face hidden. “You know, your whole family is kinda nerdy, huh?”

“Which is why you can’t tell them!”

“Fine, fine,” Ryoga said. “I’ll keep another secret for you. That’s three, now.”

“What do you want?” Nabiki lowered the pillow from her face and looked him in the eyes. 

Ryoga looked confused. “Want?”

“For keeping my secrets? How much?”

“I don’t want anything,” he said genuinely. 

“Really?”

“Really.”

“Huh.” She settled back down on her stomach to watch the movie again, and Ryoga leaned back against the bed. “You’re kind of a weird guy, huh?”

“I’m the weird one?” Ryoga said, looking forward at the television screen. “I don’t have a secret love for giant lizards.”

“Ryoga--” Nabiki bent her head forward, hiding her face in her hands.

“Don’t be embarrassed,” said Ryoga. “It’s kind of cute, really.”

Nabiki looked up, but only watched the movie. And not even one time did she look over to see his reaction. Even when they made casual conversation, discussing what was happening on screen. Not even when she couldn’t help herself in delivering more pieces of Godzilla trivia, which he listened to with interest, not laughing again unless she deliberately told a joke. Not even to make sure he didn’t see the single tear slide down her face at the end of the movie, when Serizawa cut his lifeline, wishing for Ogata and Emiko to be happy. 

Eventually the noise from number three stopped. The movie ended. Nabiki turned off the television, and Ryoga slid all the way down to the floor, yawning. She crawled under her covers, wondering if she could even fall asleep with her heart beating so fast. 

“Good night, Nabiki.”

Ryoga’s voice, in the dark. She smiled. 

“Good night, Ryoga.”

* * *

_ Saturday  _

“That’s it! I have had enough!”

Nabiki groaned and opened her eyes. It definitely sounded like number three had resumed their fight. So early in the morning though? She pulled her covers down and looked over at her clock. 

Ah. 12:17 PM. 

With a grunt, she sat up in bed, stretching her arms over her head and yawning. She looked down at the floor and there was nothing but a neatly folded blanket with a pillow on top. Ignoring the small stabbing feeling in her chest, she looked back up at her desk and smiled.

Another gift. Another folded note on top. 

_ I was saving this in case I saw you again. _

_ \--Ryoga Hibiki _

She opened it. It was a pop CD, Neo History by Junko Ohashi. Nice. 

She tapped the CD against her hand and sighed. Did that idiot know that he had gotten her a cassette walkman and not a CD player? 


	7. Week Seven

_ Wednesday _

“Here.”

Akane pulled out her wallet and handed Nabiki a small sum of cash. 

“Thank you!” Nabiki smiled and tucked the money away in her purse as her sister took a seat on her bed. “Tutoring is going well, then?”

“I guess so,” Akane said, shrugging. “You’re right, I do like teaching. Some of the students though--they’re supposed to be adults, but they act like kids! I don’t know how they made it out of high school.”

“That’s the way of the world, isn’t it?” Nabiki spun around in her desk chair, completing a full rotation. “Some people retain their childish heart forever.”

Akane smiled slightly. “I suppose.”

“Well, good business for you is good business for me. Keep up the good work.”

“Thanks,” Akane replied, her tone a mixture of amusement and exasperation. “Hey, Nabiki?”

“Yeah?” 

“What do you even spend all this money on?”

“Ah, you know I like the finer things in life.”

“Hmm,” said Akane, tapping her chin thoughtfully. “Mostly when you get finer things, like jewelry, or clothes, or a fancy dinner, you’ve usually conned some guy into paying for them. You never spend your own money.”

Nabiki gave her a tight lipped smile. Too perceptive. Maybe our family really is all nerds. “You wanna know the truth?”

“I do.”

“I save it.”

“You save it?”

“The fastest way to go broke is to spend money,” said Nabiki. “And I never want to be broke.”

“But I mean--” Akane looked around. “You could probably afford a better place than this, then.”

“Surprisingly no,” said Nabiki. “Do you have any idea what rent is like in better places? Besides, don’t worry, I do treat myself every now and again.”

“You do?”

“Sure.” Nabiki grinned. “For example, I’m gonna take the money you just gave me and buy myself a CD player.”

* * *

_ Friday _

“Hey, is Ryoga working tonight?”

Nabiki leaned on the bar, smiling charismatically up at the owner, trying to seem casual and uninterested.

“No,” he replied. “Haven’t seen him since last week.”

“Oh well.” Nabiki shrugged and kept the smile on her face. Headed over to the stage, where Mamoru and Ami were waiting. 

Mamoru slung his guitar strap over his shoulder. “Nabiki, you ready?”

“Yeah,” she said. “I’m ready.”


	8. Week Eight

_ Thursday  _

“Fired? Again?”

Nabiki took a seat on Akane’s bed, throwing her backpack on the floor.

“Yeah,” Akane said, setting her own bag down on the desk. “But it’s bogus! I shouldn’t have been!”

She started pacing back and forth, but there wasn’t a lot of space in the small room, so the abrupt, frantic movements made her look even more infuriated than she already was.

Nabiki sighed. “What happened?”

“I may have--” Akane rolled her eyes. “I may have broken some guy’s wrist.”

“Akane!”

“Well, he--” Akane sank down on the bed next to her sister. “He groped me.”

“He did?”

“We were bent over the table, and he just reached out and grabbed my chest!”

“And you couldn’t have stopped him before he did it?”

“I was distracted by trying to help him with his schoolwork! He’s lucky all I broke was his wrist.”

“Maybe you’re right.” Nabiki sighed. “You shouldn’t have gotten fired.”

“Well, he denied doing it, so--” Akane crossed her arms. “The tutoring center said I was lucky I wasn’t getting expelled.” 

“That’s not fair,” Nabiki said. “But sometimes that’s the way the world works.”

“Well the world sucks!” Akane threw up her hands in anger. Hesitated. Pulled them back down to her chest. “Nabiki.”

“What?”

“You can’t tell Ranma what happened.”

“Keeping secrets? From your husband?”

“I don’t want to, but--” Akane shook her head. “He’d kill that guy. You know how crazy overprotective he’s been recently.”

“Recently?” asked Nabiki. “More like always.”

“Nabiki. Please.”

Nabiki frowned, thinking carefully. Mostly she hoped this didn’t lead to Akane having another nightmare tonight. 

“All right, little sister,” she said. “I’ll keep your secret.”

Akane gave her a weak smile. “How much?”

Nabiki blinked. “What?”

“How much? To keep my secret?”

Nabiki paused. Opened her mouth slightly. Closed it. Smiled.

“This one’s free of charge.”

* * *

_ Friday _

“Akito-chan!”

“Nabiki! Long time no see!”

The tall, lithe bartender grinned up at her as she entered the bar, raising one hand over her head in enthusiastic greeting. Ranma and Akane were right behind her, and the three took their seats at the bar, lined up in a row, Akane in the middle.

“Well, I’ve been away at school, you know.”

“Ah yes, the classic bookworm and righteous scholar, Nabiki Tendo,” said Akito, setting down the glass he was wiping. He nodded and smiled in the direction of the other two. “Akane. Ranma.”

“Yo, Akito!” 

“And what would you all like to drink?” Akito asked. “Nabiki, your usual?”

“Yes, please. I’ve only had shitty beer for a while now,” she sighed. 

“Water for me, please,” said Akane.

“Are you pregnant?” Ranma asked bluntly.

“What? No!”

“Are you sure?” He asked.

“Yes, I’m sure!”

Nabiki raised one eyebrow, unsure if Ranma was relieved or disappointed. He ordered a beer, and Akito set out to prepare their drinks. As he placed Nabiki’s glass of whiskey down, Akane said, “Oh, and we might have a fourth joining us soon!”

“A fourth?” Nabiki asked, lifting her glass to her lips. “And who might that be?”

Akane smiled brightly while Ranma opened his eyes wide and looked down at his beer behind her. “Ryoga-kun!”

“If he can even find the place,” Ranma muttered. 

“Ryoga? Really?” asked Nabiki. 

“Sure! Wouldn’t you be glad to see him?”

Ranma closed his eyes and took a long sip of his beer. Nabiki glared at her younger sister suspiciously. “So what is this about? You trying to set us up?”

“What? Ha ha, no!” Akane shrugged, trying and failing to exude nonchalance. “But it was fun, when the four of us all went out to eat together, wasn’t it?”

“Akane.” Nabiki set her glass down on the bar. “If this is some kind of attempt at matchmaking, it’s pathetic.”

Akane frowned and narrowed her eyes. “Now wait a minute--”

“We’re not all like you, Akane. We don’t all need some big strong idiot to swoop in and rescue us all from all our problems.”

Akane glared back at her sister. 

“Wait, am I the big strong idiot?” Ranma asked from behind his wife. Neither Akane or Nabiki bothered to acknowledge him, so he turned to Akito, who gave him a sympathetic nod. Ranma blinked at him, then shrugged. “Well, I am pretty strong.”

“Nabiki! I just thought that since the two of you were so lonely--”

“I’m not lonely!” Nabiki cried. “And let’s be honest, even if I were, you wouldn’t care about that anyway.”

“Of course I would--”

“Absolutely not. The only reason you want to set me up with Ryoga is so you can play happy families. And trust me, I’m not interested in some poor lone wolf who is not only your husband’s best friend, but used to be in love with you!” Nabiki took a big gulp of her drink. “I can’t have anything to myself, not even the guy I--”

She stopped herself. Turned away. Finished her drink. Slapped money on the bar.

“Nabiki--”

“I’m done. See you later.”

She threw her windbreaker on and marched out of the restaurant, struggling with the zipper. Akane just wanted her to get with Ryoga so they could go on cutesy double dates. Barf. Have kids at the same time who would grow up as best friends. Double barf. And Nabiki was absolutely not interested in any of that. Especially not with--

“Nabiki?”

She had turned the corner, and there he was, less than a foot away from her on the sidewalk, the stars shining in the night sky behind him.

“Ryoga.”

She sighed and looked up at him. His face was as inscrutable as ever. She suddenly realized that he was a lot taller than her. Very big. Broad shouldered. Very strong. 

“I guess I found the right place,” he said, and smiled. “I was sure I was lost.”

Very idiot.

“Yeah, you found it,” Nabiki replied, forcing herself to smile in return. “But I’m leaving.”

“You are?”

“Yeah. Tell Akane I’m taking the late train back to school.”

“All right.”

Did he sound disappointed? She couldn’t tell. She hated not being able to tell. So she just walked away, sticking her hands in her jacket pockets, and didn’t say another word.


	9. Week Nine

_ Monday _

Nabiki could barely keep her eyes open as her history professor droned on in the front of the room. It was mostly information she knew already, but this particular professor was a stickler for attendance so she was always dutifully present. Her mind couldn’t help but wander, however. She hadn’t walked Akane home from the train station, but she had kept an ear out until she heard her sister come home to the boarding house and put her things away. 

Part of her felt bad for arguing with her sister, like she always did. Akane always had the best of intentions, after all. It was her follow-through that needed work. Then again, another part of Nabiki still felt angry. Akane could have at least come up with a more interesting plan than simply having Ryoga meet them at a restaurant. At least do something convoluted, involving a costume, or secretly placed camera, or straight up bribery. Something!

Honestly, things were starting to feel too normal. Maybe having a big strong idiot around like Ranma would make things more exciting.

“Sensei.”

Nabiki looked at the student a few rows in front of her who had raised his hand and was now asking the professor a long winded question. Tatewaki Kuno, age twenty, the former blue thunder of Furinkan High. At least he wasn’t constantly wearing a hakama nowadays, and was simply wearing a shirt and slacks. Still, he was big. Strong. And an idiot. 

Also rich. 

She could work with that.

Once class ended, Nabiki practically sprinted down to his desk and perched herself on the edge, crossing her legs and giving him her best smile.

“Kuno-chan.”

“Nabiki Tendo.” He bent down to pick up his bag, gathering his books. 

“How would you like to go out to lunch today?”

“You mean you want me to pay for your lunch today,” Kuno replied, looking up at her unimpressed.

“Isn’t that the same thing?” 

“Hardly.” He stood, lifting his bag over his shoulder. She stood with him, pleased with their height difference. 

“Come on, Kuno-chan, it will be like old times!”

“Old times?” He furrowed his brow. “Nabiki Tendo, do you realize you no longer have anything to offer me?”

“What?” she asked, surprised.

“My first love, your sister, is married now. And although her vows were made to my most mortal enemy, I have no intention to disrespect their nuptial bond. By purchasing photographs from you, or otherwise.”

Nabiki sighed inwardly. An idiot, but an honorable idiot.

“And my second love turned out to be her husband! So I am doubly disinterested.”

He began to leave the classroom, and she frowned. 

“Wait, Kuno-chan, I wasn’t trying to sell you pictures--”

“Then what was your intention, Nabiki Tendo?”

She let out a deep breath, re-plastering the smile to her face. “I just wanted to have lunch. Aren’t we friends, Kuno-chan?”

He looked more confused than ever. “Very well. Lunch, then.”

Nabiki was hoping he would take her to a fancy French restaurant, but he did not have a lot of time before his next class, so they settled for the on campus ramen place. Which was good enough, she supposed, especially as it was free. 

As they sat at the counter, though, Nabiki found it difficult to make conversation. She had simply no idea what Kuno was interested in, which was crazy, since they had known each other their whole lives. And he was never really one to ask about anybody else, so they slurped their noodles with little chatter. 

“All right, Kuno-chan,” she said finally, sighing. “What’s--what’s new with you?”

“New? Well, there is a kendo tournament on Friday. I have assembled quite a formidable team. We shall crush the bones of our opponents into bits not even fit for a pig’s consumption.”

Nabiki bristled at the word ‘pig,’ but quickly calmed herself. She smiled and folded her hands together on top of the table. “Sounds menacing.”

“Indeed. The intensive training regimen I have developed has turned my lower classmen into prime specimens. Not a foe will be left standing, I assure you.”

Nabiki rolled her eyes. Didn’t she used to find this guy amusing? He was way too focused now. Had Kuno actually matured? Why was everyone becoming so boring? They were still young! Now was the time to run around and scream into the wind and drink and dance until you passed out and sleep through exams and stay up late watching monster movies and--

Nabiki shut her eyes tight. Everyone around her was so responsible, getting married and having jobs, and following through with commitments, but was she really so different? She took all her tests, turned in all her papers on time. Attended band practice. Paid her rent. And she was already so, so tired of being grown up. 

“Nabiki Tendo, are you all right?”

She opened her eyes. Kuno was staring at her with genuine concern. She pictured herself vomiting all over his shoes. That would show him. Instead, she smiled.

“I’m fine, Kuno-chan. Thank you for lunch.” She stood up, leaving her napkin on the counter. “But I guess this date was a bust, huh?”

“Date?” Kuno scoffed. “This was most assuredly not a date.”

She raised one eyebrow, smirking. “Am I really so fearsome, Kuno-chan?”

“It has nothing to do with you,” he asserted. “I simply already have a girlfriend.”

“You do?”

“Of course. Not everyone is as unappreciative of my affections as your younger sister was.”

“Well--” For once, Nabiki was at a loss for words. “Good luck with that.”

She turned and left without waiting for him to say anything else. If she was going to settle for one of Akane’s castoffs, it should at least be the one who--

Nope. Nope, she wasn’t going to settle for anyone. Not anyone!

She started running. Her sneakers pounded on the sidewalk, her bag full of books bouncing heavily against her back. There were dead leaves on the ground, crunching under her feet. She didn’t want anyone. All she ever needed was herself. She had come to university to find that. To keep that. Stability. Normalcy. And yet every time she faced someone else who was acting like an adult, her stomach rebelled and she felt like running. 

Once in front of the boarding house, she stopped. Bent over. Attempted to catch her breath. What would she tell Akane, if she caught her acting like this? You can’t run away from your problems. Although what problems did she have, really? School was fine. Her sister was fine. Everything was fine. 

_ You no longer have anything to offer me, Nabiki Tendo. _

Not that she wanted to offer him anything anyway! Still, it stung. High school really had been easier. 

She entered the building and stormed up to her room. At least now, she had the freedom to skip class, stay in bed, and eat a bunch of snacks if she wanted to. And she really, really wanted to. Maybe she would even start smoking right in front of Akane! Or maybe she would drop out and devote herself to the band full time and go on tour! Or maybe--

Or maybe nothing. Except the staying in bed eating snacks part. That was an acceptable level of irresponsibility. So she turned her television on, not paying attention to what was showing. Crawled under her covers. Dug into her desk drawer and pulled out a handful of candy bars. 

Just as she settled in, fully comfortable, there was a knock at her door. Sighing, she climbed out of bed and pulled her door open.

“Tendo. Package.”

Tadashi handed her a small box. Tiny, really. It fit in the palm of her hand and the address label wrapped around it nearly completely.

“Thanks,” she said, holding it up vertically between her forefinger and thumb.

“Aren’t you supposed to be in class?”

“Aren’t you supposed to be fixing the toilet?”

Tadashi looked devastated. “The toilet’s broken again?”

She shut the door without answering him and took a seat on the end of her bed, tucking one leg underneath her. She slid one finger under the end of the tape holding the box closed and opened the top, tilting it towards her hand. A roll of white paper surrounding something hard and plastic tumbled out. She unwrapped the paper and revealed her gift. 

A two-inch tall plastic figurine of Godzilla. 

_ I thought this would be small enough to hide in your desk, in case you didn’t want anyone to see it. _

_ \-- Ryoga Hibiki _

Nabiki bit down hard on her bottom lip, really not wanting to smile. Not now. She opened her desk drawer. Hesitated. Closed it. Leaned over to her bureau and set the tiny monster next to her television.

And then she smiled.

* * *

_ Tuesday _

“Now this one,” said Nabiki, smiling and pushing the door to the shop open. “I think you’ll like.”

Akane looked around in wonder. The shop was crowded, dusty, full of sagging shelves stuffed with books. A few tables near the front had a few more popular, newer books on display, but they too looked mostly untouched. A few beams of sunlight managed to pierce the grime on the windows, bathing everything in a soft golden glow. 

“This?” asked Akane. “Is my new job?”

Nabiki nodded. “Books are sturdy, you can’t break them. Not a lot of customers, and the ones that do come are nearly all women. Plus, you can duck behind that big old counter anytime you need a barrier between you and a shady character. And your boss is this adorable old woman!”

An adorable old woman sitting behind the counter with a cat in her lap gave Akane a small wave. “Hello dearie!” 

Akane waved back politely. “Hello. So what exactly is it you need me to do?”

“Dusting, first of all,” the old woman chuckled. 

“Akane’s great at cleaning,” said Nabiki.

“And stocking. My back’s not as good as it used to be.”

“Akane is very strong.”

“And tending to Fukuko here. Don’t fret, she’s very old, mostly she just needs some attention now and again.”

“Akane is an expert at comforting cats.”

“Sounds good to me.” The old woman smiled. “You can start right away.”

“I--” Akane blinked. Looked over at Nabiki.

“What do you think?” Nabiki asked. 

Akane stared back at her wide-eyed before breaking into a huge smile. “It’s perfect!”

“Really?” Nabiki grinned, relieved. “You won’t get bored?”

“With all these books?” Akane shook her head. “No way!”

“We really are nerds, huh?” Nabiki muttered under her breath. “One more thing, though.”

Akane looked at her sister with wry amusement. “Fifteen percent of my paycheck?”

“You know me so well.”

Akane rolled her eyes, but didn’t let her smile drop. “Never change, Nabiki.”

“Oh trust me,” she replied. “I won’t.”

* * *

_ Friday _

"Where is everyone?"

Akane was flipping on all the lights in the dark house as she and Nabiki made their way into the living room.

"They knew we were coming home this weekend, right?"

"Yeah," said Nabiki, throwing her bag down and taking a seat on the floor. "Don't worry, they're probably just at the store or something."

"Maybe." Akane frowned.

Before she could sit down, they heard a voice calling from the front door.

"Hello? Everyone?"

Akane's face brightened. "It's Kasumi! Oh, I hope she brought Mirai!"

Nabiki rolled her eyes but said nothing. Their oldest sister walked into the room, holding her young baby in a sturdy carrier.

"Oh, Nabiki, Akane! Is it just the two of you here?"

"Yep," said Akane, rushing over to take the carrier off of Kasumi's hands. "I don't know where everybody went."

Kasumi looked a little worried. "I was hoping Nodoka would be here. I need to run an important errand--"

"We can babysit!" Akane volunteered eagerly.

"We?!" shouted Nabiki, sitting up straight.

"Well--" Kasumi bit her lip. "It's just for a little while. She should sleep, mostly. But she will need a bottle in a bit."

"I can handle it!" Akane said, looking determined. 

Kasumi smiled. "You know what? I think you can."

Kasumi handed over the diaper bag, full of everything they could need. Kissed her daughter on the forehead. Said goodbye. Left.

And Nabiki and Akane were alone with the baby.

"See, Nabiki?" Akane set the carrier down as she lowered herself to the floor. "She's still asleep. Everything is gonna be fine."

Only five minutes passed before baby Mirai woke up and started screaming at the top of her tiny lungs. 

"What do we do?" Nabiki cried, covering her ears with her hands.

"I'm not sure!" Akane lifted Mirai up, cradling her against her shoulder. She checked the baby's diaper. "She's not wet. Maybe it's time for her bottle?"

She was bouncing Mirai softly up and down, one hand holding up the back of the infant's head. Nabiki was stunned by how Akane seemed to be moving instinctively. 

"Uh, sure--" Nabiki dug around in the diaper bag, found a bottle, held it out to Akane. "Here."

Akane shook her head. "She only likes it warm."

She stood up, still holding a wailing Mirai against her shoulder, and led Nabiki into the kitchen. 

"Should we--really, you--be cooking right now?"

Akane laughed. "It's not cooking."

She shifted the baby so she could hold Mirai with one arm, and reached out to turn on the sink. Let the water run, holding her fingers under the stream. Took the bottle from Nabiki, rotating it under the water, all while Mirai continued yelling in Akane's ear. Managed to cradle the baby in her elbow as she held out one wrist, shaking the bottle so a few drops fell out and landed on her skin.

"Ah, just right." Akane smiled and lowered Mirai, cradling her against her chest with one arm, holding the bottle up to the baby's screaming mouth, which instantly closed around it and quieted.

"Can you turn the sink off please?" Akane asked Nabiki, looking up at her, swaying slightly back and forth as she held their niece.

"Sure." Nabiki shut off the faucet and hesitated before turning back around. Akane was walking away, humming an old lullaby their mother used to sing. She followed her back to the living room, just watching.

Akane looked peaceful. Calm. Happy. Motherly. It occurred to Nabiki that all those times Akane had went home without her, or went to visit their sister at the clinic during the summer, she had learned. Learned how to take care of a baby from Kasumi. Maybe from Nodoka, too. They were all wives. Married. Doing what they were supposed to do.

Kasumi, it seemed to make sense. It seemed a path she was born for. Akane, though? Her little sister that hated boys. Never wanted to get married. Determined to run the dojo by herself, their whole lives. Just naturally assumed that being heir was her way. Now she was nineteen, married already, from an arranged engagement. Is that what happened, when you met the right boy? You just give up and get married and have babies?

"Akane," said Nabiki, slowly, looking at her sister across the table. "Do you want to have kids?"

Akane looked up and smiled, but her brow knitted in slight confusion. "Of course. If it was up to Ranma, I would have two already."

"Really? He wants them that bad?"

"Oh yeah." Akane laughed. "I think he's just eager to make up for the mistakes his parents made."

Nabiki frowned. "That's not a great reason to have kids."

"I agree with you," Akane said. "Still, I think he'll be a great dad."

"Yeah," muttered Nabiki. "He probably will be."

"Doesn't matter though, I told him he's gonna have to wait. A while."

"Really?"

"Really! I'm not ready yet. I want to finish university. Teach at the dojo, for at least a couple of years. Then we can start."

Nabiki let out a sigh of relief. "So you're not gonna be popping out kids any time soon?"

"Definitely not!" Akane shook her head firmly.

"That makes me feel better," said Nabiki.

"It does? You don't want to have kids?"

"Probably not. Maybe I could be a stepmom, though."

"A stepmom?"

"Yeah, you get the kid half-baked without having to do any of the hard parts. Just finish it off and send 'em out."

Akane laughed. "You make it sound like it's a cake you're going to eat."

Nabiki shrugged, smiling. "The dessert of life."

Mirai finished her bottle. Akane asked Nabiki for a cloth out of the diaper bag, which she put over her shoulder. She gently lifted the baby and patted her back softly until she burped and spit up a good amount.

Nabiki made a face. "See, I definitely want to skip stuff like that."

Akane smiled, but said, "I can't really blame you."

Not long after, Mirai was settled back into her carrier, smiling and making soft babbling noises. Nabiki found it easier than she thought to make conversation with her sister. Akane loved her new job. Her literature professor had given her last essay perfect marks. She didn't mention Ranma one time.

Of course he had to come home and ruin that situation.

"Sheesh," Ranma grumbled, walking into the living room with their parents. "That took forever."

"Ranma!" Akane instantly jumped up and into Ranma's arms where they kissed each other passionately.

"Hello, Nabiki," Nodoka said calmly, ignoring her son and his wife. She took a seat at the table and smiled. "It's nice to have you home."

"Thanks. Where were you guys?"

"At a town council meeting," Soun said sadly as Ranma lifted Akane up and held her against the nearest wall. He sighed deeply and took a seat along with Genma.

"Ranma was right, it took forever," said Genma. As he sat down, he noticed the baby. "Oh, look, Mirai-chan is here!"

"Mirai?" Ranma dropped Akane, who landed on her feet, and turned around excitedly. He knelt down, grinning, and lifted Mirai up, holding her under her arms, his large hands easily wrapping around her tiny body. "Mirai-chan! Who is the strongest baby in the world, huh? Who is it?"

Mirai laughed and waved her hands, letting out a stream of nonsensical babbling.

"Oh really?" Ranma replied, eyes wide. "That's interesting! Please, tell me more!"

Mirai laughed and cooed again as he bounced her up and down.

_ He'll be a great dad. _

Akane, a bit flustered, pulled down the hem of her sweater and sat across from Nabiki at the table. The two caught each other's eyes, and Nabiki found herself genuinely returning her sister's smile.

"Where's Kasumi?" Nodoka asked.

"She said she had to run an errand. So it was just me and Nabiki with Mirai for a bit."

"Oh, how nice," said Nodoka. 

"I would have babysat," Ranma grumbled, pulling faces at Mirai.

"You had to go to the council meeting," said Soun. "If you're going to run the dojo, you need to be a part of the community--"

"Blah, blah, blah," Ranma said, sticking out his tongue and rolling his eyes. "Bunch of boring old people complaining about drains. Who cares?"

"You should care--"

_ I don't think he and Dad get along very well.  _

Nabiki thought back on her sister's words. Her father had once been eager, grateful for someone like Ranma to come in and run the dojo, make it successful, which Ranma had done. And now, they were arguing with each other openly, Ranma no longer cowering in anxiety at the possibility of arousing Soun's ire. He considered himself on equal footing. An adult.

Nabiki felt frustrated again. Ranma, the loving husband and father. Boo. Hiss. How boring! What she would give to have a Chinese warrior woman break through their wall right now, throw a blunt object at Ranma's head. 

Instead, the only person who joined them was Kasumi, her calm presence interrupting the argument.

"Oh, everyone's finally home, I see!" Kasumi smiled. "And I have to go with Mirai, as well."

"So soon?" Ranma asked as his face fell.

"Yes, it's her bedtime."

"Our bedtime, too," said Akane, standing up and grabbing Ranma by the back of his collar. "Come on."

"Fine," he grumbled. He waved at the baby as Akane dragged him away. "Bye bye, Mirai-chan! Come back soon!"

Mirai laughed as her uncle disappeared around the corner, almost as if she understood him.

Nabiki thought about how her room shared a wall with Akane and Ranma.

"Kasumi, let me walk you home."

"I'll be fine--"

"She’s right," said Soun, as he climbed to his feet. "It's late. I'll come too."

Nabiki was positive he wanted to get out of the house for the same reason she did, but just smiled and said nothing. Once outside, Kasumi attached Mirai's carrier to her stroller, and made sure she was bundled up warmly.

"At least it's not too windy tonight," Soun said as they began the walk to the clinic.

"Do we have to talk about the weather?" moaned Nabiki. "There are a million things more interesting."

"What would you like to talk about, Nabiki?"

Kasumi. Always so genuine. 

"I don't know," Nabiki muttered. "Ah--where did you go tonight? Where you can't bring Mirai?"

"Well--" Kasumi tilted her head. "You can't tell Tofu. Or even Akane."

"A secret?" asked Soun. "How unlike you!"

"I know, Father, but it's a little silly--"

"What is it, what is it?" Nabiki grinned. Kasumi never hid anything. And the fact she was willing to share with her and not Akane was a surprise as well.

"I went to the hairdresser," Kasumi said with a small smile. "The other day, I noticed a few gray hairs."

"What?" asked Nabiki, flabbergasted. "But you're only twenty-two!"

"Tell me about it," Kasumi replied with good natured exasperation. "Why do you think I went?"

"My daughter has gray hair?" Soun sighed, tears beginning to form in his eyes. "I'm really getting old."

"Well, you are, quite literally, a grandpa," said Nabiki with a sly smile.

"True. And perhaps it's my fault. I noticed my first gray hairs right after Kasumi was born."

"Really?" Kasumi asked. "I never noticed."

"You're not the only person who has had a secret appointment with a hairdresser," he replied.

Nabiki laughed. "So, having kids ages you even faster than I thought, huh?"

"Yes," Kasumi sighed. "It does."

Nabiki blinked in surprise. "Really? I always thought that you were meant to do this."

She gestured at Mirai's stroller with both hands.

"Don't get me wrong," said Kasumi. "I love my baby so, so much. And you're right, it feels like it was meant to be. But it--it's hard, sometimes. Really hard. Harder than raising you and Akane, even."

"And we were terrible!" Nabiki added jokingly. 

"You weren't so bad," Kasumi said, laughing. "It was always exciting. And the two of you were good kids, at heart. Just wanted to protect each other."

Nabiki paused. _ I am getting soft. Really soft. _

She threw her arms around Kasumi from behind, pressing her face against her sister's back. Kasumi stopped in place, surprised, but let her shoulders relax as she smiled and brought her hands up to hold Nabiki's forearms.

"Thanks, sis," Nabiki said softly. "You did a lot for us. I should have said thank you before."

Kasumi squeezed her arms warmly. "You're welcome."

Soun suddenly grabbed both of them tightly from the side, bursting into sobs. "Look at this! My daughters, getting along!"

"Dad, let go, this is embarrassing--"

"Really, Father, I am a grown woman now--"

Their pleas went mostly ignored, but they were already in front of the clinic. Tofu came outside hearing all the noise. Soun finally released Kasumi and Nabiki, and they exchanged goodbyes. Soun and Nabiki were left to make the walk home alone.

The air had grown chillier, but the pair still walked slowly. Nabiki felt warm, humming to herself.

"You're in a good mood," said her father.

"I guess so," she replied. "Daddy, is it--"

She hesitated. Suddenly, she was struck by a bolt of guilt. 

"Is it what?"

"I just feel relieved that Kasumi isn't perfect." She smiled up at the night sky and shook her head. "That's pretty selfish, huh?"

"Not really," said Soun. "We all have someone in our lives that we wish wasn't perfect."

"Daddy. You shouldn't be so hard on Ranma."

He raised his eyebrows. "And here I thought you found him as annoying as I did."

She laughed. "He's not so bad. And you used to like him a lot."

"That's before he disrespected me in my own home--"

"It's his home too, isn't it? And one day, all his."

Soun said nothing, only continued walking.

"I will admit, he can be irritating, but--he just loves Akane."

"And she loves him," sighed Soun. "I didn't expect it to be this hard, seeing all my daughters grown up. It's what a father is supposed to want, though, isn't it?"

Nabiki smiled. "I'm not the one to ask about things people are supposed to want."

"You're right, about Ranma. He's not so bad. He loves Akane. He loves this whole ridiculous family."

"The whole family?"

Ranma had gone to the town council meeting. He had complained, but he had gone, just because Soun had asked him to. Nabiki remembered the speech he gave at Kasumi's wedding. How happy baby Mirai looked in his arms. How tightly he had hugged her when she gave him money so he could elope with Akane.

"Ah, damn," Nabiki said softly. "I have a little brother, huh?"

"I would say you do," Soun agreed.

"Well, Daddy." Nabiki skipped a few steps ahead and turned to face her father, flashing him a teasing grin. "You know that means you have a son, right?"

"Son-in-law," Soun grumbled, his mustache twitching as he exhaled.

"Daddy."

"Fine, fine," he sighed. Smiled. "A son."

"See?" Nabiki began walking alongside him again. "Not so bad."

"Certainly a change after raising three daughters."

"And two grown and married already! Hope they made you proud."

"Nabiki."

They were in front of the gates. Home already. She had been smiling, teasing. But her father had stopped. She turned to face him and her smile faded.

"You just thanked Kasumi for everything she did for the family."

"She did a lot."

"So did you."

Nabiki looked away. Shrugged. "Just money, Daddy."

"You shouldn't have had to. You paid so many of our bills. We would have been lost without you."

"I wanted to have a house to live in too, you know."

"This is all my fault. All three of you girls had too much responsibility. Kasumi, to run the house. You, to handle the finances. And Akane, to carry on the dojo. The three of you had to grow up so fast, because without your mother, I--"

Nabiki stared back at her father. He wasn't crying, so she wasn't going to either.

"Well, I was a pretty useless dad, huh?" He looked up at the sky. One tear fell. So Nabiki let one fall too.

"Thank you, Nabiki. I'm proud of you."

She smiled. Looked down. Shook her head. "Don't worry about it. I'll send you the bill."

Laughing together, she and her father walked into the house. 

* * *

_ Saturday _

"Good morning."

Nabiki yawned, yanking up the top of her pajama pants as she treaded into the living room.

"It's one thirty in the afternoon," said Nodoka in an amused tone as Nabiki flopped down on the other side of the table. No one else seemed to be around.

"Might as well be dawn," said Nabiki, leaning forward and grabbing a scone from a basket on the table. She took one large bite. "Wow, this is good. You made these, Auntie?"

Nodoka shook her head. "Ranma did."

"Right," said Nabiki with a sigh. "I heard he is some sort of baking superstar now."

"Another thing he's good at."

Nodoka sounded irritated, which piqued Nabiki's curiosity. She leaned forward eagerly. "What's wrong, Auntie? Are you and Ranma arguing again?"

"No, no, it's just--"

"Just what?"

"It can be frustrating, sometimes, when you realize your son doesn't need you anymore." Nodoka smiled sadly and picked up a scone, plucking a blueberry out of it with her fingers. "He dotes on his wife. Teaches classes. Cooks! What can't he do?"

"Math," replied Nabiki plainly.

Nodoka laughed. "Oh, I shouldn't find that funny."

"It's all right, it is funny."

"Ah, I just feel like he never needed me in the first place. And he doesn't need me now. So what am I still doing here?"

"Maybe he just wants you around. Isn't that better than being needed?"

Nodoka thought this over, slightly inclining her head. "Perhaps so."

"Besides," said Nabiki, taking another bite of her scone. "I like having you here."

"I like having you here, too," Nodoka replied. "You should come home more often."

Nabiki smirked. "We'll see."


	10. Week Ten

_ Friday  _

“My first university Halloween party!”

Akane clapped her hands together as she waited for Nabiki to change. The door to her room was slightly cracked open so they could talk while Nabiki got ready. 

“You’re that excited, huh?” Nabiki called from inside. 

“Absolutely!”

“And you promise you didn’t invite Ranma up here this weekend?”

“No way! He would freak out at everything! He’s such a worrywart, it can be a real pain.”

“Trouble in paradise, Akane?” Nabiki opened the door to her room fully, emerging in her costume.

“No, not at all. He’s just kind of a buzzkill sometimes.” Akane paused, turning to look at her sister. “That’s what you’re wearing?”

“It’s a classic.” Nabiki, in a skintight black outfit that covered her from neck to toe, with a pair of black cat ears on top of her head, winked and made mocking pawing motions with her hands and meowed. “Besides, it’s not like your outfit is super original.”

“I’m a witch!” Akane said, smiling brightly. Her orange skirt poofed out on top of cheap petticoats, the fabric of the sleeves bunched up. The dress was also surprisingly low cut, and Akane was wearing thigh high striped stockings and heeled boots. She touched the hem of her large, dark purple witch’s hat and giggled. “A cute witch!”

“Cute is certainly a word,” Nabiki said, raising one eyebrow and smirking. “Now I see why you didn’t want Ranma to come.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Akane said, as they walked down the stairs. As they reached the door, she fastened a long black cape around her neck. 

“Really completes the look, sis.”

“Thanks!”

Laughing, they left and made their way down the street. Dead leaves swirled around in the night wind as their shoes clicked on the sidewalk. Nabiki felt warm in her costume, but she wondered if Akane was feeling chilly, as much skin as she was showing. Not that she disapproved, but Akane’s wardrobe was usually pretty uptight. Cute, but uptight. But it was nice, seeing her sister just wanting to have fun. Akane, in a good mood, always seemed like she could take over the world, and she’d bring you with her on the way. 

They turned down another corner and Akane's smile grew even wider, spreading across her face. "Oh! Look at that! It's Ryoga-kun!"

Nabiki looked straight ahead to where Akane was pointing. And there, under the dull yellow glow of an old streetlight, stood Ryoga Hibiki, his face partially hidden behind a map. A short cape around his shoulders. A flowing white shirt. Tight black pants. As he looked up, mumbling to himself, Nabiki noticed a tiny trail of fake blood painted on his face.

"A vampire?" asked Nabiki. "Really?"

"Well, he already has fangs." Akane shrugged. 

They approached Ryoga, who looked up and finally noticed them. 

"Ah, Akane-san, looks like I found the place."

Nabiki frowned. "Akane--"

Akane turned to her sister and placed her palms flat together, bowing slightly. "I didn't know he was going to be here, I swear!"

"Really?" said Ryoga. "I was pretty sure I had found the right spot this time--"

"Hahaha, you're so funny, Ryoga-kun! Anyway, we're going to a party! Would you like to join us?"

"Akane--" Nabiki said again. 

"Come on, let's just all have fun together!"

Akane hooked one arm together with Nabiki, and her other with Ryoga, and started pulling them down the street. Nabiki was too weak, physically, to resist, and Ryoga was too polite, so the three of them made an awkward scene as Akane merrily strolled along the sidewalk.

The house the party was taking place at wasn't far, and when they arrived there were already people milling about in the front yard. Or really, a variety of ghosts, Spider-men, Momotaros, a dragon, sushi rolls, elves, and a Sherlock Holmes. A red-faced oni ran out of the front door and lifted up his mask as he bent over at the short barrier wall and puked his guts out.

Akane gracefully avoided the splash as they continued walking up. They pushed their way in through the front door, where even more partygoers in bulky costumes crowded in the foyer. An alien on the stairs waved his hand in a three fingered greeting. The thumping music audible from outside was even louder in here, although it seemed to be coming from the back half of the house, and as they entered the living room, it was somewhat muffled.

"Ah, there they are!" The host of the party, a very handsome zombie named Shinichi, was perched on the arm of the couch, holding a bottle of beer. He grinned and raised it in greeting. "The Saotome sisters!"

Nabiki threw her sister's arm off. "Tendo. My name is Nabiki Tendo."

A girl with shoulder length black hair dressed as Dorothy Gale sitting on the couch leaned over curiously. "Akane-chan. I thought your name was Saotome?"

"It is," said Akane, smiling. "But I'm married, remember?"

"Oh, that's right."

"A married woman? At a party? That's no fun," whined Shinichi. He stood and took a few steps closer to Nabiki, leaning over her and grinning. "But you must be single, right, Nabiki Tendo?"

Nabiki, placing one hand on her hip as she arched her back slightly, returned his grin with a smirk of her own. "I am."

She ignored Akane's frown. Didn't notice Ryoga's shoulders stiffen. 

"So then, Tendo-san, would you like to dance?"

"I would love to."

Nabiki pushed past Akane and Ryoga, leading Shinichi by the hand to the kitchen, where several other people were already dancing. 

Akane sighed, watching her sister moving to the music. She turned to the vampire next to her.

"I'm sorry, Ryoga-kun."

"For what?"

"For--" Akane hesitated. Squinted her eyes. Lifted herself up on her toes, peering closely at his face. Ryoga grimaced, instinctively bending backwards slightly to put distance between them. After moving her eyes back and forth, searching his expression, she sighed. Lowered herself down. "Maybe I was wrong."

"Wrong? Huh?"

"Nothing." Akane pulled two beers out of a nearby bucket of ice. Handed one to him. "It's a party. Let's have fun!"

* * *

Nabiki deliberately avoided her sister for most of the night. But when she did occasionally cross paths with Akane, she seemed fine. Happy. Giggling with friends, which she seemed to have plenty of. Akane had always been popular.

Shinichi surprisingly turned out to not be a creep, but got distracted when a friend wanted to show him his new Gameboy. And as nerdy as Nabiki secretly was, she had negative interest in video games. So she started wandering from room to room, interacting with her own friends, trying not to care about where Ryoga was. 

And, as seemed to happen so often recently, she ran smack into him anyway.

They literally bumped into each other as they came around the same corner. She managed to maintain the hold on her beer and he seemed completely unaffected by the collision, standing firmly in place. They looked directly at each other, and she maintained the coolest smile she could muster.

"Ryoga."

"Nabiki."

"Enjoying the party?"

"It's fun so far."

Nabiki narrowed her eyes as she looked up at him. This guy always wore his heart on his sleeve around Akane, but when he was around her he was unreadable.

"So far?" She purred and took a sip of beer. "Are you planning on something happening later?" 

"Well--"

"Yuriko!" A drunken werewolf stumbled forward between them, landing in front of an angel with a plastic halo.

"Isao-kun?" The angel blinked.

"Yuriko--" The werewolf clutched her hands, lifting himself up on one knee. "I love you. We've been dating for two years now. And I need to know--will you be my wife?"

Yuriko was silent. The other partygoers had paused, gathering in a semicircle to watch. As the pause went on, Nabiki brought one hand up to her forehead, partially covering her eyes. It wasn't often she felt embarrassed for other people's sake, but this was truly painful.

"How humiliating," whispered Nabiki.

"Really?" asked Ryoga, leaning down to whisper back. "He just seemed overcome with love."

"But a public proposal?" Nabiki hissed. "Huge yikes."

This was a sentiment evident among the rest of the crowd as they began to shuffle their feet, waiting for Yuriko's answer.

She started to laugh, suddenly, awkwardly. "Very funny, Isao-kun! You know we can't get married yet!"

"But I want to! We're meant to be!" Isao pleaded from the ground. 

"No," she replied, pulling her hand away, smiling gently. "We're not."

And then she walked away, leaving a stunned and heartbroken Isao on the floor.

Shinichi, noticing the silent group in the middle of his party, pushed forward and looked around.

"Who wants to do shots?"

The guests erupted into relieved cheers and broke back onto dancing and conversation. Someone increased the volume of the music. Isao was left motionless on the floor, staring into space.

Ryoga crouched down. Patted him on the back.

"I messed up," said Isao. "I'm a fool."

"A little," said Ryoga. "You should have probably asked her if that was okay first."

"I'll never love again," Isao moaned.

"Seems extreme, but I can relate," Ryoga replied. 

Nabiki turned away. She didn't want to hear the rest of the conversation. She went to go look for shots. Found them. Took a couple and ended up in the kitchen.

Akane was bent over the counter, facing a member of the rugby team who was dressed extremely creatively as a professional rugby player. Their hands were locked together, both of them with their elbows on the countertop. Akane smirked, watching his muscles bulge.

"All right, ready?" her friend, Dorothy Gale, said, raising her hand in the air before bringing it down in a chopping motion. "Go!"

The rugby player strained against Akane's grip. Grunted. Threw the weight of his body into his efforts, digging his feet into the floor.

"And here I thought you would give me a real challenge," Akane said, yawning. With one more breath, she casually slammed his hand down against the counter with seemingly no strain on her part.

"Winner!" cried Dorothy Gale, throwing her arms in the air and jumping up and down. The other onlookers clapped and soon a line of men and women were forming at the counter.

"He had to have thrown it, right?"

"No way it was possible--"

"I gotta see for myself--"

"Can a girl really be that strong?"

The rugby player shook Akane's hand warmly. "Thank you, Akane-san. That was fun!"

"Anytime!" Akane smiled and waved. Took a shot. Wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. Pushed up her sleeve, bent back down to the counter, and her smile turned into a smirk.

"All right," she said, her knuckles popping as she flexed her fingers. "Who's next?"

Nabiki smiled, genuinely glad her sister was enjoying herself. Her irritation at Akane having invited Ryoga faded slightly. And as fascinating as drunken arm wrestling could be, Nabiki was confident about how the outcomes of the next several matches would play out. So she left again, turning into a small room off the kitchen.

It was dark in here, and a group of people were piled on top of a couch or spread out on the floor, staring at the television while drinking and making stupid jokes.

"Nabiki!" Ami, dressed as a very sexy nurse, jumped up and grabbed her hands. "Come on, the movie is about to start!"

"Movie--?"

But Ami was yanking her arm, pulling her down to sit next to her in a small space on the couch. And on her other side Nabiki was squashed up against--

"Ryoga."

"Nabiki."

"You finish comforting that guy?"

Ryoga shrugged. She could feel the muscles of his arm through his thin, flowy shirt, moving against her own shoulder. This was too close. She should get up. Leave. There was a whole second floor of the house she hadn't seen yet.

She didn't move.

"Did you see Akane taking on all comers in the kitchen?"

Ryoga laughed. "I did. She's extremely strong. Never fails to surprise me."

Nabiki pursed her lips tight. At least he was looking ahead, at the television and couldn't see her face as she screwed it up. She hadn't had that much to drink, but her face still felt hot.

"Do you think Akane would want to see the movie?" Ami asked.

"No way," said Nabiki. "She hates scary movies."

"I thought she was supposed to be a martial artist. Aren't they super brave or something?"

"Not when it comes to stuff like that," said Nabiki. "One time, when she was six, I put a rubber spider in her desk at school and she cried for four hours."

Nabiki felt a shaking coming from behind her. She turned around and Ryoga had his arms across his chest, laughing heartily. Maybe he was drunk. To laugh at a mean trick she had played on Akane? He had to be.

"Okay, okay," said a guy dressed as Totoro in the middle of the room. "It's starting! So you can only talk during commercials!"

Everyone mumbled their agreement, but there were still a few whispers here and there as the movie began. Nabiki settled back into the couch and decided maybe it wasn't so bad sitting next to Ryoga like this.

The movie was quite intense, and the crowd just drunk enough to appreciate the jump scares. Nabiki would simply laugh whenever the others would scream, and, to her amazement, Ryoga would laugh with her. This wasn't such a bad situation after all.

Somewhere during the midpoint the movie faded into an advertisement for hand cream and the crowd burst into relieved, tipsy conversation.

"All right, kiddos," said a girl dressed as a bar of soap, carrying a tray with several cups. "Time to drink some water!"

"Aw," grumbled Totoro.

"Your lack of hangover will thank me tomorrow," said the soap as she started passing the cups out.

It was almost as if Nabiki had a premonition of what was to happen, a split second before it did. The soap tripped on the outstretched leg of a mummy. The tray tilted as she fell, one singular cup of water flying up into the air.

And then falling down.

It landed where you expected it to. And then Ryoga was gone, the space on the couch suddenly open, with nothing left except a small lump under a pile of clothes.

"Huh?" said Ami. "Where did Ryoga-kun go?"

"He just disappeared!" said the soap.

"The ghost got him!" yelled Totoro, leaping to his feet.

This accusation caused the other partygoers to erupt in fear and confusion. 

Nabiki shifted her body, attempting to hide the bundle of clothes behind her. She waved her hands and smiled. "Don't be silly! There's no such thing as ghosts! This is just a party trick he can do!"

The mummy sat up. Turned around. "Pig."

A tiny black piglet had made his way out from under the clothes, sniffling and looking confused.

"Ah! It's so cute!" Ami reached over and lifted the piglet up around his middle. "I didn't know Ryoga had a pet!"

"He does," says Nabiki. "A dog."

Ami looked at her with an eyebrow raised. "But this is a pig."

"I know."

"And look, Ryoga even put a bandana on him!" Ami held the piglet up to her face, smiling wide. "Really, really cute!"

Nabiki remembered when Akane first found P-chan. Held him to her chest. Kissed him on the snout. 

She was going to throw up.

She grabbed the piglet away from Ami, standing as she tucked him under her arm. 

"Listen, I gotta reunite this little fella with Ryoga--"

"Where is, Ryoga, anyway?" asked Ami. "I know you said it was a trick, but--"

"Good question! I'm gonna go find him!"

And then Nabiki was running. Out of the house, down the street. Didn't stop to tell Akane where she was going. But it was just back to the boarding house.

She sat down in the entryway, placing the piglet on the floor. He just sat there, staring back at her. She took off her shoes. Picked him back up. Knocked on the manager's door.

"What is it now?" Tadashi threw the door open, one eye closed. "Oh. Tendo. What do you need?"

"I need--clothes. Shirt and pants. And I need to borrow your electric kettle."

"For what?" He noticed the piglet in her arms. "You can't have pets in here."

"He's not a pet. Now, please, just hurry."

Tadashi shrugged. Disappeared behind his door for a few minutes. Reappeared with the things Nabiki had asked for. 

"Now, I'm serious about the pet thing--"

"Thanks!" Nabiki turned and rushed up the stairs, not bothering to listen to what else he was saying. She slammed her shoulder into the door, refusing to waste time on jiggling the knob. She put the piglet on her bed and plugged in the kettle, setting it on top of her desk. Fetched water from a container in her mini-fridge and started to heat it up.

The entire time the piglet just stared at her, blinking but not wiggling or making any noise.

"No worries, P-chan," Nabiki said, grinning at him. "We'll have you back to normal in no time."

The kettle beeped.

"Ah, see?"

She poured the water over the piglet, watching as he grew back into Ryoga. She turned away before she got a complete look at his naked body, setting the kettle back on its base. 

"Well, I'm glad Tacchan was able to help us out. I'm sure--"

"Nabiki."

She turned back around. The shirt was too tight on him. The pants too big. But what she didn't expect was how angry Ryoga looked.

She gulped. Kept her smile up. "Ryoga."

"Why did you take me out of the party?"

He was absolutely glowering. His brow low. His mouth set in a straight line. Shoulders tense as he placed his hands on his knees. 

"I thought you would want to be Ryoga again."

"We could have gotten hot water at the party."

That was true. She hadn't thought of that. Hadn't thought of much of anything as she had grabbed him up and ran down the street, heart pounding.

"I thought--I just--"

She hated feeling at a loss for words like this. She always had something to say. Could talk her way out of any situation. She just didn't know why he was so mad.

"I know what you thought," he said, voice deep.

"You do?"

"You didn't want all your friends to know that I'm a pig."

This stunned her. Her brain tried to put what he said into context. But it was too idiotic. 

"Is that what you think?!"

"It's true, isn't it? Who wouldn't be ashamed to be associated with a lousy, stupid, pig?"

His hands were balled into tight fists. Every time he said the word pig, it was like he was spitting it.

Nabiki found herself matching his anger. "Well you are pretty stupid, that's true!"

Yelling at him while her cat ears threatened to slide off her hair also felt stupid, but she was too upset to care. 

"See?" he said. "I knew it!"

"You don't know anything!"

"You know what I know?" He was on his feet. Stomping. Leaning over her. Close. "I had Nannichuan water in my hands. I didn't have to be a lousy pig. I could have been a man, a full complete man again, and what did I do?"

"What did you do?" asked Nabiki, not breaking eye contact. 

"I rejected it! Turned it down! Because I thought--I thought--"

The steam went out of him. His shoulders drooped. He turned his head. Sank down onto the bed, letting his hands drop between his knees over the edge. 

"I thought I had someone who loved me the way I was."

Nabiki clenched her jaw tight. As angry as he had looked seconds ago, he looked infinitely sadder now.

"Do you have any idea what that's like? To have that?"

"No," she said. "I don't."

He looked up at her. There was something there, something she could almost see in his eyes, for just a second. Or maybe not. 

"I was lonely for a long time," he said. "Even before I was a pig, I felt so useless. Worthless. Alone. And for just a little while, I thought I had moved past all that. But things always go back to the way they were, don't they?"

Idiot. Idiot! He was so stupid. She was getting mad again. Is this what Akane felt like, whenever she let her temper short out? It burned. It sucked. 

"Well," said Nabiki. "Sorry I'm not Akari, or Akane, or whatever girl you expect to handle your problems for you--"

"Who asked you to be any of that?!" He was mad. On his feet again. 

"You're right," said Nabiki, forcing a smirk onto her face. "You would never ask me anything like that, would you, Ryoga-kun?"

He stared at her for a long time, breathing heavily through his nose. She couldn't read him at all. Until he narrowed his eyebrows and frowned, his muscles tightening under the too small shirt.

"You're an idiot," he growled.

Then he turned. Threw her door open. And was gone.

She didn't stop him. Even though he didn't have shoes, or a coat, or his pack. Even though it was a complete certainty that the second he walked out of the door he would become hopelessly lost. Even though she just wanted to. She really, really wanted to.

She let him go, instead, and sat down on her bed in the same spot he had been.

No one had called her an idiot before. Maybe she was. She took her cat ears off. Twiddled the ends of the headband between her fingers.

"Damn," she whispered. "I am an idiot."

"YOOOOOOOOOOO!"

Nabiki hadn't bothered to close her door, so she heard the yelling clearly, along with the various other residents banging on their doors and walls angrily in response.

"Chill out, ya geezers--"

"Saotome--"

"Tacchan!"

"Don't call me that--"

"Oh, Nabiki can, but I can't? Discrimination!"

Nabiki smiled and stood up. Left her room, closing her door and stood at the top of the stairs. 

"Akane."

Her little sister looked up at her from the entryway, where she had just managed to finish taking off her boots.

"Nabiki!" Akane beamed. "Tell Tacchan to--to--"

"To what?"

"I dunno." Akane shrugged and burst into giggles. 

“You’re supposed to be the responsible one,” Tadashi grumbled as Akane stuck her tongue out at him. 

"Okay, let's get you to bed," Nabiki said, descending the stairs. 

"What? Noooo, the night's still young!"

But Akane fell forward into Nabiki's arms, her witch hat sliding forward. She tilted her head back and peered at Nabiki from underneath the brim, smiling.

"Hi."

"Hello." Nabiki began to aid Akane in climbing the stairs. "You had fun, huh?"

"So much fun! Oh, here!" Akane dug into her bra and pulled out a wad of cash. "For you! Your cut!"

"What?" Nabiki was confused, but took the money, sticking it in her own bra. "Where did you get this?"

"All those dumb dumb guys kept thinking they could beat me at arm wrestling! So I started taking bets! And I won every time!"

"So why are you giving me money?" Nabiki asked as they stood in front of Akane's room. Akane pulled a key out of her bra and handed it to her sister, who used it to unlock the door.

"Because I never woulda thunk to do that without you!" Akane stumbled inside and threw herself on the bed, throwing her hat into the corner. She was bent over, her knees underneath her, her butt sticking in the air, as she turned her head to the side and looked back at Nabiki. "Do you not want it? I thought you liked money."

"You were right. I do like money." Nabiki sat on the edge of Akane's bed, smiling in amusement.

"At least I'm right about something!" Akane sighed and slumped over to the side.

"What do you mean?"

Akane turned her lips upward in a pout. "Do you know what Ranma told me? Last time I saw him?"

"That he'll love you forever, you're meant to be, his heart opens only for you, or whatever blah blah fairytale nonsense you guys talk about?"

"No!" Akane shook her head, which was difficult with one side of her face against a pillow. "He said the reason we eloped is so we didn't have to have a wedding!"

"Well, he does seem like the kind of guy who--"

"No, not cuz a him! Because of me! He worried I couldn't have handled the crowd! And you know what?"

"What?"

"He's right!" Akane grabbed a pillow and held it over her face. "A big wedding would have been a nightmare! I would have hated it!"

"Really?" 

"Really!" Akane lowered the pillow. Looked at Nabiki, her eyes sad. "You know I had to give a presentation in class last week? And I couldn't? I had it all written up. And I got in front of the class, with all those people looking at me, and I couldn't say anything! Not a single word. I almost failed."

"Shouldn't you be happy, then? That Ranma knows you so well?"

Akane shook her head again, clutching her pillow under her chin. "I'm tired of people making assumptions about me all the time. And I'm tired of those assumptions being right! People just look at me and know everything about me. It's awful!"

"I don't know what that's like," said Nabiki, smiling, trying to cheer Akane up.

"You're so cool and mysterious, Nabiki," Akane said. "I wish I was more like you."

"Really? Like me?"

"Yeah, duh! And then I could talk in front of all sorts or people, no problem, and none of them would ever know what I was really thinking.”

Nabiki kept her smile in place, realizing she was doing exactly what Akane had just described. Not letting anyone know how she really felt. 

“It can be a useful skill.”

“That’s why I went to the party tonight,” said Akane. “I wanted to be around a bunch of people! Have fun! Feel normal! And I did it, didn’t I?”

“You sure did,” said Nabiki. “Congratulations.”

“Thanks!”

Akane seemed sufficiently cheery again, so Nabiki moved to get up. 

“All right, I’m gonna--”

She froze as she turned to Akane, her eyes landing on top of the desk next to the bed. There were four pill bottles of various sizes, one tilted over on its side. 

“Akane? What’s all this?”

“What?”

“All that medicine?”

“Oh, it’s--” Akane groggily lifted herself up on her hands and crawled on her bed so she could reach her desk. Opened the top drawer and swept all the bottles in with her forearm. “Yeast infection.”

“Akane, they don’t give you all that for a yeast infection.”

Akane didn’t answer, just sat on her knees on top of her bed, looking down. Nabiki’s face went white and she sat back down on the bed. 

“Akane, are you sick? Is it--is it like--is it like when Mom--”

“No!” Akane shook her head fiercely. “It’s not like that. It’s--”

She looked up. Gave her sister a small, sad, drunk smile. Tapped her head with one finger. “It’s for my brain.”

“I thought you said it wasn’t like Mom--”

“It’s not! It’s not a tumor! It’s--it’s from a psychiatrist.”

“A psychiatrist?” Nabiki was truly surprised. She had known Akane had been hurting. Different. Anxious and full of nightmares. But she had been getting better! Why would she need a psychiatrist? All that medicine? 

But then again, she thought, maybe the medicine is what had helped her get better. 

“Yeah.”

“Does it help?”

“Yeah.”

Nabiki felt a bit of guilt, for making her sister tell her that. Relief, that Akane wasn’t sick, not like their mother. Happy, that Akane was getting better. 

“Nabiki?”

“Yeah?”

“You can’t tell Dad, okay?”

“Okay.”

“Thanks.”

“Does Ranma know?”

“Yeah.” Akane nodded. “He has some too.”

“What? Really?” Now this one threw Nabiki for a loop.

“Only one thing, though. So not as much.”

“Wow,” was all Nabiki could think to say. The guy had been less anxious lately. Although the last thing Ranma needed was more confidence. “And here I thought he had just matured.”

“Ranma? Mature?” Akane rolled her eyes and fell back into bed. “Are you kidding me? You know last Sunday when we woke up he farted in bed and then pulled the covers over our heads so we both had to smell it?”

Nabiki started laughing so hard she had to cover her mouth with her hands. “That’s probably the funniest thing he’s ever done.”

“It was not funny!” protested Akane, but she was giggling too. 

“Yes it is. Now scoot over.”

“What, why?”

“I’m sleeping in here tonight. Come on, there’s plenty of room.”

“Fine, fine.”

Akane made room for her sister, and Nabiki turned off the light as she slid under the blanket. Both drunk, Akane moreso, both still in their Halloween costumes, and both giggling, they eventually fell asleep.


	11. Week Eleven

_ Thursday _

“Tendo.”

“Let me guess,” Nabiki said, smirking, as she stood in the entryway to the boarding house, looking over her shoulder at Tadashi as he stood in the doorway to his room. “A package?”

“Yeah, there was a package,” he replied. “For me, though, not you.”

Her smirk disappeared. “Oh?”

“Yeah, and what I wanna know is why is my shirt and pants getting mailed back to me instead of you just handing it to me?” Tadashi held up the items in question, neatly folded and bound together with a string. 

“Search me.” Nabiki shrugged and failed at smiling in return. She turned away and marched up the stairs, glad she had walked home alone after class.

The last thing she needed was for Akane to see how disappointed she was. 

* * *

_ Friday _

* * *

_ Saturday _

“Good morning.”

“It is, in fact, ten forty-two in the morning,” said Nodoka. “You did it.”

Nabiki gave her a sleepy grin, rubbing her eyes with the sleeve of her pajama top. “First time for everything.”

“We’re going out to lunch in a little while. This means you can join us.”

“Sure.”

Everyone was there. Nodoka, Genma. Her father. Even Kasumi and Tofu, with baby Mirai. The only ones missing were--

“Yo, Nabiki!”

Ranma and Akane walked into the room together, both fully dressed in similar outfits, sweaters and jeans. Nabiki found herself getting irritated just by how much alike the two looked, which she instantly tried to rationalize to herself. That’s silly. It’s cold outside. That’s all. 

“Hello,” Nabiki finally replied coolly. “Where have you two been?”

“Just out shopping. Ranma needs some weird new ingredient for some sort of--what was it?”

“Sachertorte,” said Ranma. “It’s basically a fancy chocolate cake.”

“I’m sure it will be amazing,” Nabiki said, rolling her eyes.

Ranma grinned. “It will be.”

“You know,” said Akane, loudly, awkwardly. She put her hands behind her back and tilted forward slightly on one foot, smiling at Nabiki. “I haven’t seen Ryoga-kun in a while. I wonder if he’s around?”

Ranma sighed. “Akane--”

“I’m just saying, it would be nice to see him again! Don’t you think so, Nabiki?”

“And why would I think that?” Nabiki crossed her arms. 

“Well, you know, I heard that you left the Halloween party with a familiar looking pig--”

“P-chan?” asked Ranma. “Wait, what party?”

“Ryoga,” said Nabiki. “Ran off into the night.”

“Oh? You must have been sad for him to leave you--”

“Akane!” Nabiki dropped her arms to her sides and glared at her sister. “You need to cut out all this stuff about me and Ryoga! It’s not gonna happen!”

“I don’t know why you’re being so stubborn about this! You can just let yourself be happy!”

“I told you before, Akane! We’re not all like you! We don’t all fall in love at first sight when we’re sixteen years old and then get married and live happily ever after!”

“I didn’t fall in love at first sight!” Akane yelled. 

“Didn’t you?”

“No! Ranma was a girl when we first met!”

“So?”

The room was deathly quiet. All it took was that one word, that one snide question, to knock the wind out of Akane, the color out of her face. She started trembling, her hands up to her chest, over her heart. 

“So he was a girl, so I wouldn’t--I  _ couldn’t _ \--”

Her voice was barely more than a whisper. Nabiki had enough of her wilting flower act. 

“So what? You think I don’t know? You think everybody in this room doesn’t  _ know?! _ ”

Akane looked around fearfully. All the adults were staring back at her wide-eyed, but not surprised. The beating of her heart in her chest was nearly audible to everyone else as she flicked her gaze from face to face, confirming what Nabiki had said. 

“You all--know?”

“Well, Ranma does turn into a girl--”

Genma was quickly hushed by Nodoka shoving an elbow into his stomach. 

Akane stared at the ground, her eyes filling with tears. She took one step back, her hands still over her heart. Then another step. And another and another until she had run out of the room completely without saying another word. 

Now everyone was staring at Nabiki. 

"What?!" she demanded. No one said anything and it frustrated her that they all had different expressions. She couldn't understand it.

"Nabiki." Ranma's hand on her arm. So big it wrapped around her bicep completely, even with her bulky pajama sleeve in the way. And his grip was tight, just on the verge of becoming painful. "Come with me."

"No way, I won't--" 

But Ranma was way too strong. He pulled her through the house, outside, even though she was in her socks, down the walkway to the dojo where he threw open the door.

"Let me go!"

And he did, finally, once they were inside. Although it was clear he had relinquished his grip of his own accord and not due to any wiggling or protesting she had done. 

She whirled on him, ready to fight, but then took one look at his face and knew she had fucked up.

Ranma could be scary when he was angry. At least when he was really and truly angry. Not just annoyed or frustrated or overwhelmed with anxiety. That's when he seemed out of control, almost silly. But now, just by looking at him, it was obvious he was incensed, and that was terrifying. Mostly because he was so calm, his body solid.

Nabiki tried to remain calm herself. Ranma wouldn't hurt her. She could feel where his fingers had wrapped around her arm. But still, he wouldn't really hurt her!

She had hurt Akane, though. So he might. 

"What the hell is wrong with you?"

He crossed his arms. His voice was ice and fire all at once. Nabiki had pushed him in the past. Really far. Driven him crazy. And still. He had never, ever treated her like this. Forget cats. Akane was his real weakness.

And Nabiki knew that. And she had went after her sister anyway. _ I  _ am _ an idiot. _

"It's not like--it's not like I said anything wrong."

"Do you have any idea how hard it was for Akane? To admit that? Even to herself?"

"There's nothing wrong with it," Nabiki muttered, crossing her arms and turning her head away. "She needs to get over herself."

"Nabiki!" Ranma's voice boomed. His face was inches from her as he leaned forward. She had always been so focused on the idiot part of Ranma that the big and strong part had become an afterthought. As he loomed over her, she cursed herself for underestimating him. 

Still, she was never one to back down. "What? I'm right! It's obvious! Everyone knows!"

"I'm the only one she's ever told, do you know that? And if she had married some normal guy, she probably would have never told anyone! Don't you get that?"

Ah. So she had hurt Ranma too. Of course he was angrier about what she did to Akane, but she had accidentally hit one of Ranma's insecurities on the way. They were both so full of issues. Why did she have to get dragged into it?

But Ranma's face had changed. No longer a mask of anger. His eyes were softer, his mouth low. 

"Ranma, I--" Nabiki lowered her eyes. Muttered something. 

"What was that?"

"I'm sorry, okay?"

His face changed again. Smiling. Eyes bright. This guy never held a grudge, even when he really should. 

"Really?"

Ranma and his stupid, genuine, lopsided grin. 

"Yeah. I shouldn't have done that to Akane. In front of everybody like that. I'm sorry."

"You should say that to Akane."

"Ew, no."

"Nabiki--"

"Listen, I am still right! It's fine for her to, you know, like girls or whatever."

"I know," said Ranma. "But not everybody thinks that. So you can't just go around--"

"I get it. You're right."

"I am?" Ranma, smiling goofily again. "First you say you're sorry, then you say I'm right. Things are really changing, huh?"

"Don't get used to it."

"Listen, just apologize to Akane too, okay? And I'll get her to lay off with the Ryoga stuff."

"Fine. Good." Nabiki let out a deep breath.

Ranma tilted his head. Raised one eyebrow. "Oh. Nabiki."

"What?"

"Oh my god. Nabiki."

"What?!" she demanded. She had already agreed to apologize to her sister. What else did he want?

"You do, don't you?"

"Do what?!"

"You like him. You like Ryoga."

Ranma can be stupidly perceptive. Especially when you don't want him to be.

"No I don't!"

"Oh man, you really like him, huh?"

"I just said I didn't!"

Ranma having the upper hand on her was unacceptable. He was smiling, his mouth open wide, his eyebrows high up his forehead. 

"But you do, though!"

She stamped one of her feet on the dojo floor. "Stop saying that!"

"Oh ho ho. You--" Ranma pointed one finger at her dramatically. "Love him!"

Nabiki placed an open hand over her chest, her mouth hanging open in shock. "No! Why can't you just listen to what I'm saying?! I don't I don't I don't!"

Ranma crossed his arms. Closed his eyes and chuckled softly. "Nabiki, do you have any idea how much you started blushing the second I said his name?"

"What?" Her fingertips went to her cheeks. No wonder her face felt so hot. "That's stupid!"

"You're stupid!"

Ranma calling her stupid was an absolute nightmare.

"Excuse you?!"

"I said you're stupid! If you pass up on Ryoga, who might be the greatest man I've ever met!"

"He slept in Akane's bed without telling her for like a year!"

"Well, besides that." Ranma shrugged. "Is that your problem? That he used to like Akane?"

Nabiki took a deep breath. In. Out. Made her face stone. Forced away the blush. Put one hand on her hip. "Well, it's not like he likes me, is it?"

Ranma frowned. "If you told him how you felt--"

"Ranma. I'm asking you plainly. Do you really think Ryoga likes me?"

Ranma stared back at her. He hated that he looked sad. Sad for her. Pity! Pity for her. Definitely she needed to throw up.

"No," he said. "But--"

"Forget it," she said, cutting him off. She smiled. Shrugged one shoulder. "It doesn't matter. Like I said, I don't like him."

"Nabiki--"

She walked over to the dojo door. Paused. Looked back over her shoulder and winked. "Don't worry. I'll apologize to Akane."

She left without waiting for him to say anything else. Kept her chin high as she walked back into the house.

No.

Ranma knew Ryoga better than anyone else. Best friends. Practically brothers. And Ranma, who had managed to see through her bullshit, who could read people, who knew, who had figured it out, had said--

No.

It would be stupid to cry, wouldn't it? She didn't care. This was high school nonsense. It was just a guy. She had other plans, anyway. Not one of them had ever involved falling in love. And especially not with--

This is the part where she would have looked up. Bumped into him. Pretended to be cool. Smile. Attempt to flirt, or tease, and get a frustratingly earnest response in return.

But he wasn't there. The house just had her family in it. 

And somehow, she felt lonely.

* * *

Nabiki tried to apologize to Akane. But her sister wouldn't come out of her room for the rest of the day. She tried to say she was sorry through the door, but there was no response. Ranma even went inside to check on his wife and when he came back out he told Nabiki maybe she should try again the next day.

So she left her sister alone. Avoided the rest of her family. Except for dinner, when the adults made stilted, boring conversation. Akane still didn't leave her room. The sachertorte Ranma made was delicious, of course. He made sure that they left plenty for Akane and helped his mother clean up.

Afterwards, Nabiki put on her shoes and denim jacket and wandered outside. She found what she was looking for--a thick wisp of cigarette smoke coming from behind the dojo.

"Daddy," she said, her feet crunching on the dead grass as she made her way behind the building. "Can I bum one?"

Soun raised an eyebrow at his daughter, his cigarette dangling from his mouth. With a sigh, he pulled out his pack and retrieved another cigarette to hand to Nabiki.

"I really shouldn't encourage my daughter smoking," he said, striking a match and lighting it for her.

"I'll register this as your official opposition, then," she said as she placed it between her lips.

"Still," he grunted, exhaling a puff of smoke. "It's a bad habit."

"Take it easy on me, Daddy, I'm on the verge of realizing an uncomfortable truth about myself."

"Oh really? What's that?"

She smiled, lowering her cigarette, flicking the ashes off of the end. Tilted her head back to look up at the sky. The city lights were more prominent here than they were in her university town, their orange glow hanging around the dark curtain of the night sky. Not as many stars here. And it was so cold outside.

"I wish--" She lifted her cigarette. Inhaled. Watched the little ember on the end glow orange. Lowered it. Exhaled, the smoke floating up into the air. "I wish someone loved me half as much as Ranma loves Akane."

Her father said nothing, just smoked his own cigarette, also staring at the sky.

"And--" Another breath. Another puff of smoke. "I wish I could love someone half as much as Akane loves Ranma."

"For what it's worth," her father said. "I think you can. I think you already do."

“Not you too, Daddy--”

“Not Ryoga, or whatever that was about,” said Soun. “Your family. You love your family.”

“You think so?”

“I do.”

“Even after what I did to Akane today?”

“Sisters fight.”

“You did know, didn’t you Daddy?”

“I suspected.”

“Are you upset?”

“How could I be?”

“Good. If you were, I‘d be really mad.”

He laughed. “I’m sure you would be. Which is exactly what I meant, when I said you love your family as much as you do.”

“I’m still a real jerk sometimes, though,” she muttered, flicking the ashes off her cigarette again.

“Well, I’m still your number one fan.” 

Nabiki thought about saying something sarcastic. Smirking, flicking her cigarette away, and turning back to the house. Instead, she let a soft smile cross her face as she turned to look up at her father. 

“Thanks, Dad.”


	12. Week Twelve

_ Tuesday _

Band practice ended late, but Nabiki still felt happy as she left, making her way down the quiet street. Akane had finally started talking to her on the train ride to school, and they had even gotten coffee earlier today before Akane had to go to work. Maybe Nabiki should start feeling grateful for how routine and boring things were starting to become again. It was easier. Hurt less.

The streets were empty, the trees letting go of their leaves as the breeze rustled through the branches. Nabiki hummed to herself, enjoying how warm her feet felt in her boots and thick socks. This town was different from Nerima. Smaller. The buildings set back behind the trees that lined the road. Not as many power lines crisscrossing the sky. This wasn't Tokyo, and she was glad.

"Nabiki Tendo."

Nabiki looked up and rolled her eyes at the figure that had emerged from the darkness to stand under the glow of the next streetlamp.

"Satoshi-kun. Long time no see."

Sometimes Tokyo follows you anyway.

“Too long, I would say.” 

He was tall. Bulking. He had been on the kendo team with Kuno a million years ago. Not half as good as Kuno was. Not a quarter as good as Akane. But he looked bigger now, for sure. Probably five times as stupid, though. He had made a lot of bets.

And lost all of them.

“It has been a while since the last time I saw your money.” 

This was, apparently, the exact wrong thing to say.

“And I’ve come to get it back,” Sastoshi growled. He let something attached to a long cord, or chain, or something, drop to the ground, where it made a  _ clang _ against the concrete. 

“Come on, Satoshi-kun,” said Nabiki. “Surely you must have gotten over all your devastating losses by now?”

“It’s all a game to you, isn’t it?” He turned his head to the side. Spit on the ground. “People’s lives. You just ruin them and think you can walk away.”

“I never forced you to make all those bets.”

“But you sure were happy when I lost.”

“Well, what can I say?” She smiled. “I’m a bad winner.”

He took one step forward, whatever he had on a cord dragging on the ground, metal screeching. “I’ve been waiting for an opportunity like this. Away from your tomboy little sister, or that freak Ranma Saotome, or even Kuno, dumb as he is. Away from anyone who would protect you.”

Another step forward. She took one step back. “Trust me, I don’t need anyone to protect me.”

“We’ll see about that.”

Nabiki wasn’t a martial artist. Even growing up in a dojo, she knew from a young age she had no talent or interest for fighting. But she was in shape. 

And she did play tennis.

She let her bag drop off her shoulder, catching it by the handle. Reared back. Swung. Connected. Didn’t waste any more time. Ran.

“Nabiki Tendo!”

Of course she didn’t hit him hard enough. Akane did like six hundred push ups a day. Nabiki should probably start joining her workouts. She had a lot of regrets rushing at her all at once, but the push up thing was number one. 

Satoshi slammed whatever the thing was into the ground, and the vibration caused her to stumble. Fall. Ugh, get up, dummy. Too cliche. She turned around and saw that the thing was crackling with electricity and lit up brightly on the end. He yanked it back and started spinning it, quickly, and it whirred through the air loudly, obscuring his figure in a circle of light.

“Can’t run any more, can you?” Satoshi growled, smirking.

Nabiki raised her forearm over her eyes, blocking out the light. Flinched. Waited for the impact.

It never came.

There was a shadow between her and Satoshi. She looked up. Lowered her arm. 

“Are you kidding me?!” 

She was on her feet, easily. Because between her and Satoshi stood one Ryoga Hibiki, one hand gripped around the glowing electric metal thingy, staring Satoshi down eye to eye. He had his own clothes on. No sign of his pack. Where did he keep all his stuff when he got lost? And why was she thinking about that right now?

“What are you doing?!” she yelled at Ryoga, who looked over his shoulder in confusion.

“Nabiki?”

“Ryoga! Did you not know it was me you were saving?”

“Well--” He turned to look at Satoshi, who raised his free hand to punch. Ryoga caught his fist easily and pushed him away with little effort. “No, honestly. But he seemed like a bad guy.”

“He is a bad guy! But I didn’t need your help!”

“Didn’t you just say I was saving you?”

Ryoga turned around fully to face her as they yelled at each other in the middle of the street.

“It was a turn of phrase! I was fine!”

“Didn’t look fine to me!”

“Why don’t you do what you do best and get lost?!”

“Wow, I’ve never heard that one before!”

“Excuse me,” said Satoshi from behind Ryoga. 

“What!?” Nabiki and Ryoga demanded in unison as they turned to face him. 

“I’m kind of trying to kill her, so if you’ll just step aside--”

Ryoga’s anger faded and he looked at Nabiki with genuine concern, which she found worse. “He’s trying to kill you? Why?”

“Idiot gambled away all his money. Not my fault.” She crossed her arms and looked away, pouting.

“Oh, well, listen,” said Ryoga to Satoshi. “You know, we all have problems, and if you’d like, I can help--”

“Shut up!” 

Satoshi whipped the cord around, sending the electric metal light thingy towards both Ryoga and Nabiki. Ryoga instinctively grabbed Nabiki around the waist and jumped backwards out of the way. She shoved him in the chest and broke free of his hold. 

“I said I didn’t need you to save me!”

“Why are you being so stubborn?! That guy is dangerous!”

“There’s always some dangerous guy! But I’m not Akane! I don’t need to be rescued!”

“Akane can rescue herself, idiot!” 

“Stop calling me an idiot!”

“Stop acting like an idiot!”

“You know, your little lover’s spat is getting really tiresome,” boomed Satoshi, approaching them once more.

“It’s not a lover’s spat!” they cried at the same time. Simultaneous. Again. 

“I don’t really care,” Satoshi replied. He started spinning his weapon again. The electricity sparked around him. “I’ll just kill you both anyway.”

Ryoga moved in front of Nabiki, his feet in a ready stance. She looked at the lines of his back. The ends of his bandana. The light from Satoshi’s weapon spinning in front of him. 

“All right,” she said, with a deep sigh. “You can fight him.”

She saw Ryoga’s shoulders shake slightly. Not in fear. A chuckle. 

He put his fist into his open palm. Cracked his knuckles. She couldn’t see it, but he smirked at Satoshi, his fangs glinting in the light. 

“You’re really gonna regret not accepting my help.”

Ryoga pulled his arm back. Threw one heavy punch. 

Blocked. 

Satoshi’s weapon was too fast. It reflected Ryoga’s fist, and he pulled it away with a hiss of pain. Satoshi laughed and threw it forward again, and Ryoga, again, grabbed Nabiki and jumped out of the way. She didn’t fight him this time as they landed, his hands on her waist still. 

“What are you waiting for? Hit him!”

Ryoga kept his eyes on Satoshi, although his hands were still on Nabiki. He shook his head. “Too fast. Can’t get through. But if I could just get one good punch in--”

He closed his eyes. Sighed deeply. Let go of Nabiki’s waist. 

“Oh no. I know what I have to do.”

“What?” she asked, but he just turned away, looking miserable. 

He took a few steps forward, toward Satoshi, who was still rapidly spinning his weapon, grinning a ferocious smirk of his own. 

“I can’t believe you’re making me do this,” Ryoga moaned, spreading his arms wide, his palms up. “This is the worst day of my life.”

Nabiki looked around fearfully. A  _ shi shi hokodan _ ? Now? Here? This wasn’t Tokyo! There wasn’t room! Ryoga was going to destroy the whole street!

“It’s not yet,” Satoshi said. “But it’s about to be.”

Looking more depressed than Nabiki had ever seen him, Ryoga lowered his head. Waited for Satoshi to approach. Clenched his fists at his sides. When Satoshi was less than a foot away, Ryoga snapped his head up suddenly. Looked past Satoshi, wide-eyed. Pointed one finger forward, over the other man’s shoulder.

“What’s that over there?!”

“Where?”

Ryoga punched him in the face. Satoshi had, of course, turned around, dropping his weapon, only for a moment, which was all Ryoga had needed. And now Satoshi lay on the ground, completely unconscious, his mysterious weapon dying with a crackle beside him. 

Ryoga stared down at his fists sadly. “I’m so upset that worked.”

“The Anything Goes Ultimate Secret Technique, huh?” Nabiki smiled as she walked up to him. “It does come in handy.”

He gave her a pleading look, his eyes sad and big like a wounded dog. “You can’t tell Ranma.”

“All right, I won’t.”

“Really?”

“Really.” She crouched down to look at Satoshi. “He’s alive, I think. You hit him pretty hard.”

Ryoga crouched down next to her. “He deserved it.”

He picked up the weapon, rolling up the cord it was attached to as he inspected it. He frowned. 

“What is it?” Nabiki asked.

“This guy just modified a bug zapper.”

“That’s what I was so afraid of?”

“Well, he was kind of a pest.”

The joke was so stupid, and the situation so relieving Nabiki started laughing harder than she had ever laughed before in her life. Ryoga stared at her for a second before he started laughing too, until they had both fallen backwards on their butts in the street, tears pouring from their eyes. 

“Well this is just junk now,” Ryoga said, as they finally calmed themselves. He picked up the bug zapper and easily crushed it between his hands, then stood and threw the metal bits in the nearby public trash can on the sidewalk.

Nabiki stood up too, wiping dirt off the back of her skirt and tights. “Well, I guess I should thank you. Even though I definitely could have handled this on my own.”

Ryoga frowned. “Is that so?”

“I’ve talked my way out of worse.” 

“Maybe you have,” he said. His tone was mysterious again. It made her feel like her insides were made of worms. But then he nodded over at Satoshi, prone on the ground. “You might need to again, if he wakes up and comes after you.”

“That’s true,” said Nabiki, sighing as she turned around. “I don’t know how to get rid of him for good.”

She crouched down into a squat, resting her elbows on her knees, her chin in her hands. And Ryoga squatted with her, both of them observing Satoshi’s body in silence.

“I could kill him,” said Ryoga.

She looked up at him, wide-eyed. “What?”

He was grinning, one fang visible. “Only joking. Unless you want me to.”

“Probably not the best idea,” Nabiki said, sighing. “I guess I could--”

She shivered.

“What’s wrong?”

She swallowed. Lowered her gaze. “I could give him his money back.”

“I feel like that would kill  _ you _ .”

“It might,” said Nabiki. “It was a lot of money.”

“Then we can’t do that, either.”

We.

She smiled a little, not letting him see. 

Satoshi sat up with a start, his eyes blinking open. He turned and stared at Nabiki and Ryoga, bursting into a huge grin. “Hi!”

Nabiki and Ryoga shared a confused look before she turned back to Satoshi. “Hello?”

“I’m Satoshi, who are you?”

“I’m--” Nabiki smiled. “I’m a friend.”

“Wow, really?”

“Yep.” She nodded. “Now, come on, let’s get up.”

The three of them got to their feet, Ryoga helping Satoshi stand. 

“Now, Satoshi, as your friend, you have to listen to me, okay?”

“Okay!” Satoshi nodded, beaming, blood pouring out of his nose. 

“I need you to walk down that street, all the way to the end. On the right, there’s a hospital. And you go in there and tell them you have an owie on your head, okay!”

“Okay!” Satoshi nodded again. “Got it!”

They sent him away, and she watched as he walked a few blocks, a little confused, but steady on his feet and going in the right direction.

“Well that all seemed to work out,” Nabiki said. She walked over and picked her bag up, Ryoga close behind.

“But what if he gets his memory back? Finds you again?”

She shrugged. “I have a feeling it won’t come up.”

“I guess.” He scratched his chin.

“Ryoga--” She reached out. Her hand moving on its own. Grabbed his wrist. Pulled his hand down to her. Looked at it intensely. “You’re hurt.”

There was a deep cut in his palm, bleeding profusely. Tiny burn marks on his fingers. She turned his hand over in her own, seeing his bloody knuckles. 

“It’s nothing,” he said, shrugging. “I’ve been hurt worse.”

“Well I--” She took a deep breath. Dropped his hand. “I’m not as good of a nurse as Akane, but I have a first aid kit. Or Tacchan does. Come back to the boarding house with me, I’ll patch you up.”

Ryoga looked down at his hand. Back at Nabiki. “Okay.”

She led him home. Had him wait in her room while she fetched the first aid kit from the manager. Sat across from him on the floor. Gently, she lifted his hand, turning it palm up as she attempted to clean it. Guilt ate through her stomach. He had gotten hurt protecting her. Jumping in to save the day, the idiot. All because she had been greedy in high school, taking money from a boy she shouldn’t have taken money from. 

His hand was huge. A paw, really. Thick fingers, covered in calluses and old scars. Even his finger bones padded with muscle. The cut wasn’t as bad as she thought at first, but there was still blood. Still his skin was sliced open, showing what was inside. She put a piece of gauze down, attempted to wrap the bandage around his hand.

No.

Did you not know it was me you were saving?

No.

Do you think Ryoga likes me?   


No. 

Two big, fat, tears fell out of her eyes. Splashed on top of the bandage, leaving visible wet spots. She pulled her hands away, and the unfastened bandage unspooled from around Ryoga’s hand and fell to the floor. She covered her eyes with the heels of her palms. 

“I’m sorry,” she said. “I’m no good at this.”

“That’s all right,” he said softly. “I’m used to patching myself up.”

She couldn’t look at him. Couldn’t help him. She couldn’t even do this, this simple thing, for the boy who had saved her life. For the boy she--

Crying. She was crying. She hadn’t cried in a long time. A really long time. And now she was sobbing her heart out in front of a boy who didn’t even like her. Who didn’t even know that it was her he had thrown himself in danger’s way for. The stupid, kind, selfless, idiot would have done it for anybody. She wasn’t special. 

This was what heartbreak felt like. It made her feel so small and weak and out of control. And they hadn’t even dated. Hadn’t even kissed. Nothing had happened between them at all. And it hurt so, so much. Her chest felt full of water. This was ridiculous. What really killed her was she was just like everyone else. Like her sisters, hung up on a guy. Wanting his attention. Devastated when she didn’t get it. 

She was supposed to be smarter than that. She felt stupid. She had felt stupid so often lately. 

"Nabiki."

She lowered her hands, but only slightly, so her palms were still on her cheeks. Her fingers stayed over her eyes, and she peered through the gaps between them like they were the slats on a fence. 

She could read his face, for once. Concern. Worry. A little bit of fear.

"You're crying."

She shook her head in response. Sniffled deeply. Pushed all the tears out of her eyes, pressing down with her fingertips until her eyeballs hurt. Smiled. Somehow. Looked up at him.

"I'm fine," she said. "Just a stressful day."

He nodded. She wondered what she must look like to him. Her eyes red and puffy. Her nose wet. She must seem weak. And worst of all, vulnerable.

"And I'm really tired. So let's just-- I'm ready for bed. You can sleep on the floor, if you want."

"Okay."

He didn't refuse. Of course he didn't. He was honorable. Worried that Satoshi might come after her again. The kind of guy who would protect anybody he thought was weaker than him. Which she was.

She threw her jacket in the corner. Wiggled out of her tights. Kept her sweater and skirt on as she climbed into bed, throwing a blanket and pillow down to Ryoga. She turned off her desk light, hiding herself in the dark. If she had been alone, she would have cried herself to sleep. Instead, she faced the wall, her eyes unfocusing in the dark.

"Goodnight, Nabiki."

Her heart broke all over again. She didn't move. Despite herself, despite how much it hurt, she smiled. Forced herself to reply.

"Goodnight, Ryoga."

* * *

_ Friday _

“Nabiki!”

Ami smiled as Nabiki finally walked into the bar. She hopped up from behind her drumset and ran over to the other girl, her curls bouncing on her shoulders. 

“You’re finally here! Mamoru’s running late, too, this is ridiculous. Where have you been?”

Nabiki held up a spiral notepad. On the first page, she had written with black marker,  _ I lost my voice _ .

Ami’s smile faded. “You what?”

Nabiki tapped the paper with one finger. 

“How did you do that?”

Nabiki turned the page, where she had already written out a second message.

_ Had a debate in literature class. It might have gotten a little heated _ .

Ami looked at her, mouth slightly open. Raising one eyebrow, she asked, “Did you write out a bunch of messages ahead of time?”

Nabiki turned a page. 

_ Yes _ .

“Well what are we going to do? We can’t let Mamoru sing!”

_ You guys could have an instrumental show. _

“Mmm, maybe. They’ll cut our pay though.”

_ I won’t let them. _

“You really prepared, didn’t you?”

Back a couple pages.

_ Yes. _

“Hey, hey guys, I’m here!” 

Mamoru was running through the inside of the bar, skidding to a stop in front of the stage where the girls stood. 

“Mamoru! Where have you been?”

“I got a flat on my car. Had to change the tire. One problem, though.” He held up his left hand, where his middle finger and ring finger were bound together by blue medical tape. “Broke my finger when I lost hold of the tire iron. I can’t play guitar tonight. So it’s just you girls.”

“Nabiki lost her voice!” cried Ami.

“What? How did--”

Nabiki was scribbling something new on the notepad. She held it up to Mamoru.

_ You have a car? _

“Yeah?”

Scribbled again.

_ How come I’ve been walking everywhere then? _

“I don’t know, you never asked for a ride!”

“What are we going to do?!” moaned Ami. 

“Well, I can sing, and you can play drums,” suggested Mamoru.

“NO!” Ami shouted at the same time Nabiki held up a piece of paper that also read NO in big characters. 

“Fine,” Mamoru grumbled. “What do you suggest, then?”

“I don’t know!” said Ami. “I would do it myself, but from past experience, I have learned the general audience doesn’t really appreciate two hour drum solos.”

Mamoru looked over her shoulder, then, up at the bar. “Ryoga!”

Nabiki’s eyes widened as she turned around. Of course, Ryoga was there, working, apron on, carrying a plastic tub. She kept a smile on her face. Took a deep breath. At least she had an excuse not to talk to him. A real one!

Ryoga set the tub on the bar and walked over to the trio. “What’s up? You guys got a show tonight?”

“We did,” said Mamoru. “But we’re having some trouble.”

“What’s that?”

“Firstly, Nabiki lost her voice.”

“You did?” Ryoga looked down at her. She saw the worry in his eyes, but nothing else.

_ Yes. _

“And more importantly, I broke my finger!” Mamoru held up his hand. 

“Sorry to hear that,” said Ryoga. “I have to get back to work.”

Nabiki bit her lip in amusement. Ryoga really had no idea what was about to happen.

“Ryoga, wait!” Mamoru cried, stopping him from turning around.

“What is it?”

“You play guitar, right?”

“Only acoustic,” said Ryoga. 

“And you can sing, can’t you?” asked Ami.

“Uh--maybe a little,” said Ryoga, slowly realizing what they were about to ask. Nabiki was suddenly in a very good mood. This could be quite fun, after all. Although she was struck by the thought that she had never heard Ryoga sing before. Oh well. He had to be better than Mamoru.

“And you’ve seen our shows, you know our songs!” Mamoru added excitedly.

“A couple, I guess,” Ryoga said, shifting his weight back and forth on his feet. 

“Then Ryoga-kun--”

“Will you do it?” Mamoru and Ami asked together in unison, each of them raising their hands up in front of them, giving him matching pleading expressions. 

“I would, but--ah, I have to finish my shift--”

“That’s all right!” The owner yelled across the room from the bar, grinning so wide his teeth were showing. “I've gotta see this!”

Ryoga looked back at the band. At Mamoru’s and Ami’s eager faces. At Nabiki, who winked. He let out a deep sigh. 

“All right, I’ll do it.”

“Yes!” 

Ami and Mamoru high-fived each other in celebration.

“I’ll get my acoustic out of my car--”

“Come on, Ryoga-kun, let’s start sound check--”

As the others started bustling around, Nabiki hung back and walked over to the bar. Held up her notepad. 

_ Beer, please. _

The owner chuckled. “Is that really good for your throat?”

_ It’s good for my spirit. _

“You really wrote that out ahead of time?”

_ Yes. _

He laughed again. Set an open bottle in front of her. 

_ Thank you. _

She took the bottle and walked over to the table in the back, the one she had found herself normally sitting at lately. Was she developing a regular spot? A routine? Well, maybe. And it wasn’t as bad as she thought it would be. 

From the back of the room, she watched the others set up on stage. The three of them seemed to be having an argument at first, but then Ami and Ryoga burst into simultaneous laughter. They had all seemed to have forgotten about Nabiki. Of course, she was usually the one who talked the most anyway, wasn’t she? And now that she couldn’t say a single word, they had just let her fade into the background. 

Stupid. Ryoga was just doing the right thing. Helping where he was needed. What he always did. As more people began to flood into the bar, the lights lowered slightly. Ami took her seat behind the drums, and Ryoga perched himself awkwardly on a stool, balancing Mamoru’s old acoustic guitar on his knees. Nabiki remembered that he had just cut open his palm a few days ago. But he didn’t even have a bandage on anymore. Could he really have healed up that fast?

Probably. Nabiki took a long drink of her beer. 

"All right, welcome to the show tonight!" Mamoru said into the microphone. "Now, we have a few change ups. We still have our lovely Ami Sato on drums--”

A few feminine cheers went up from somewhere in the crowd.

“But unfortunately, the lovely, dedicated, passionate Nabiki Tendo has been struck by illness and lost her beautiful voice. Only temporarily, we all hope!”

A few scattered and disappointed boos. Nabiki looked around in surprise. Was she really that popular?

"And I, Mamoru Takahashi, age twenty-one, have critically injured myself. But no worries! Tonight, we are presenting a special, stripped-down, unplugged version of our typical offerings! And so allow me to introduce to you, the wandering troubadour extraordinaire, Ryoga Hibiki!"

Nothing from the crowd. A few coughs. Nabiki started applauding as hard as she could, although she didn't have the voice to cheer. There were a couple other people who got the idea and started clapping politely. On stage, Ryoga grimaced. 

"Let's start the show!"

Another round of mild applause. As the crowd quieted, Mamoru stepped off stage. Ami began to tap out a slow, steady beat. Nabiki kept her eyes on Ryoga. He could be a nervous guy. Had he ever performed like this?

But Ryoga, never wanting to disappoint, followed through. Started plucking out a few notes on his guitar. Gradually picked up the pace. He was good. Surprisingly good. He had downplayed his skill so much Nabiki had almost started to worry. But of course he was good at this. He was good at most things, she had discovered. Akane’s comment about Ryoga and Ranma being more alike than you would think echoed in her head. 

But Ranma couldn’t play guitar. And his male singing voice was only slightly better than Mamoru’s. 

Ryoga was singing, and he was great. 

It was a little odd, hearing the songs she had sung before in an upbeat, high-pitched feminine lilt, being changed to fit Ryoga’s melancholy baritone. But it went well with his acoustic performance, with Ami accommodating skillfully for the changes in tempo. They made a good team. 

Nabiki finished her beer. Went back to the bar. Ordered another. Returned to her table.

Ryoga was still singing. Another song. And he was still great.

She really wanted to throw up.

He finished. Everyone clapped. The crowd had seemed to grow a little wistful. The happy, cheerful lyrics Mamoru had written took on a different spirit when coming out of Ryoga and his guitar. Ryoga turned back to Ami. They had a quick, whispered conversation. He turned back to the microphone.

“Um, this next one’s called ‘Present,’” he muttered. 

Nabiki smiled. This was an exceptionally corny, overwrought song Mamoru had written that she only sang during their shows to be funny. 

“Take my song, my whispering present,” Ryoga sang. He looked stressed. Nabiki held back a giggle. “Take my song, my tiny present, I'm sending you, I love you--”

Nabiki shifted in her seat. Sang slowly like this, it wasn’t as bad as before, at least. 

“Here I've been doing my best, going at it until night, finally I've done it, what I want to show you--”

He was getting more comfortable. Settling in. It helped the song immensely.

“It's really just a little dirty thing, is it all right? It's pretty--”

Nabiki felt like she was drowning. Maybe Mamoru was a more talented lyricist than she had thought. She drank half of her beer in one go.

“Sometimes I too, get lonely, in such times I sing about you--”

She couldn’t stand it. She downed the rest of her beer. Picked up her jacket, threw it over herself, one sleeve first, then the other. Without saying anything, to anyone, not like she could anyway, she left the bar, heading out into the cold night. It had been dark in the bar, and she had been sat in the back. It was unlikely anyone would have noticed her leaving. 

She stuck her hands in her pockets. Her throat really did hurt. A lot. What if when she got better she couldn’t sing as well as before? The band could just replace her with Ryoga. Wouldn’t that be better for everyone? Ami and Ryoga had played so well together. Perfectly in sync. 

She should just get over it. Get over him. It’s not like they had broken up. They had never had anything to break. What a waste of time. 

She arrived at the boarding house, slipping out of her shoes, unable to ignore the weight in her chest. Maybe she should just indulge it. Cry herself to sleep. That might help. To just wallow in it for a little while. Get it out of her system.

“Nabiki?”

Akane, in the hallway that led to the bathroom, in her pajamas, looking sleepy. Nabiki pulled out her notepad.

_ I thought you went home. _

Akane shook her head. “I had to work late. Throat still hurting, huh?”

Nabiki nodded. Wrote something else.

_ Is Ranma here? _

“No, he has some special Saturday class tomorrow. I’ll see him next week.”

Nabiki nodded. Started walking up the stairs, Akane behind her.

“Nabiki, where did you go? You should have stayed home and had a bunch of tea.”

Nabiki rolled her eyes, which Akane couldn’t see, and shrugged her shoulders. 

“Nabiki! Where did you go?”

Nabiki ignored her, even as her sister followed her into her room. Watched as she changed into her own sleeping clothes.

“Nabiki! Tell me! Tell me! You never tell me anything!”

Nabiki just stared back at her. Sat on her bed. Sighed.

“Tell me, tell me, tell me, tell me--”

Nabiki scribbled on her pad again.

_ Shut up! _

“Oh, come on, Nabiki! You always know everything I’m doing. Can’t I be the nosy one for once?”

_ I was out. _

“Out where?”

_ Out. _

A flash of excitement lit up Akane’s eyes. “Were you on a date?”

_ No. _

“Too bad,” Akane sighed. 

Nabiki started writing.  _ You’re not gonna ask-- _

Scratched it out. Akane looked at her curiously.

“Nabiki, if you really don’t want to tell me, that’s fine--”

She paused. Nabiki was staring at her, holding the notepad in her lap. Her eyes were shining with tears, but she wasn’t crying. 

“Nabiki?”

Nabiki looked down. Squished her eyelids shut. A couple tears fell out anyway, landing on her notepad. Clenched her fists, tugging at the fabric of her pajama pants. 

“Nabiki, it’s all right.”

Akane just reached out. Put her arms around her sister. Hugged her closely. Nabiki wanted to scream, but her throat hurt so much. Akane was right. She should have stayed home and had tea. Akane was right about a lot of things. She cried harder. Akane held her tighter. She let the notepad and pen fall to the floor, and wrapped her arms around Akane’s back, sobbing into her shoulder. Crying like this in front of her sister was humiliating, but she was past the point of caring. It was also cathartic. Liberating. 

It was a while before she stopped. Sat up. Pulled back. Smiled up at Akane, her eyes swollen.

Akane returned the smile, still holding her sister’s hands. “Feel better?”

Nabiki nodded.

“Okay, scoot over.”

Nabiki dropped her mouth open in shock, but Akane just gestured with her hands for her to move.

“Come on, come on, I’m sleeping in here tonight. Don’t argue.”

Nabiki smiled again and moved over, under the covers. It was starting to get really cold, after all. Maybe having another person with her would help it feel warmer. Akane turned off the light and slid down in the bed next to her sister. They faced each other, holding hands in the dark.

“Akane,” Nabiki said in a hoarse, strained, barely audible whisper.

“What is it?” Akane whispered back.

“He doesn’t like me.”

Akane didn’t ask who. Didn’t ask any questions. Just moved forward, hugging Nabiki again. Nabiki started crying one more time, holding on to her sister, until eventually she fell asleep.


	13. Week Thirteen

_Tuesday_

“Glad you could make it to practice today,” said Mamoru, as he buckled his seatbelt.

“Me too,” replied Nabiki cheerily, settling into the front seat of his car. She had spent the rest of her weekend drinking cup after cup of tea with honey as provided by Akane. It had helped her voice, for sure, but the caffeine had started to give her the shakes as Monday rolled around. And luckily, it turned out Mamoru’s finger wasn’t broken, just sprained. 

“And your voice still sounds great, I’m glad.”

“Oh? So you’re not gonna permanently replace me with Ryoga?”

“No way,” Mamoru said, putting his car into gear. “He’s great, don’t get me wrong, but his vibe is all wrong. Too mellow.”

“He’s not so bad,” Nabiki replied, smiling and looking out of the window.

“You’re better.” Mamoru maneuvered the car down the streets of the town, heading to the boarding house. The sun was just beginning to set, and the late autumn sky was gold and blue, the wind shaking the trees.

“Thank you, Mamo-chan.”

“I was worried you would leave us, actually, after you ran out on Friday night.”

“I told you, I just started to feel sick. Not just my throat.”

“I guess it’s understandable. Just wish you had said goodbye.”

“I couldn’t say anything, remember?”

“Yeah, yeah.” Mamoru sighed and clicked on his turn signal as he waited at a traffic light. “But we were all worried.”

“No reason to be,” Nabiki replied, trying not to linger on the word _all_. “I was fine. I’m always fine.”

“Ryoga kept talking about how there was some weird guy after you. Wanted to go out there and make sure you weren’t getting attacked.”

“You didn’t let him?”

“No way, I haven’t known him long, but I know how bad his sense of direction is,” Mamoru replied, turning down another street. “Ami took him home instead.”

Nabiki didn’t let her body stiffen. Didn’t let her expression change. “Did she?”

“Yeah. Said he was gone before she woke up, though.” Mamoru stopped the car, put it into park. “Here we are.”

“Thanks, Mamo-chan!”

“Anytime,” he called after her as she exited the door.

After she turned her back to him, she marched inside and up to her room. Changed into her sweats. Lowered herself to the floor. Started lifting herself up and down, performing pushups.

One thing she was sure of was that she was absolutely not going to cry one more tear. Not ever again.

* * *

_Friday_

“Thanks for the sparring session, Ryoga,” Ranma said, throwing a towel around his neck as the two young men reclined on the roof of the Tendo dojo. They had both worked up a heavy sweat and the crisp wind helped to cool them down. “It’s been boring fighting nothing but kids or housewives for so long.”

Ryoga crossed his arms. “Haven’t you at least tried to recruit some grown men for classes?”

“I’ve tried,” said Ranma. “They just don’t last long.”

“You’re too hard on them,” said Ryoga. “You’re easier on the kids.”

“Well, they’re kids! I’m not gonna baby adults.”

“It’s not about babying,” said Ryoga. “Just not everyone is as strong as you.”

“That’s true,” said Ranma, grinning. “I am the best.”

Ryoga rolled his eyes. “The best at having an ego.”

“Oh yeah, absolutely,” Ranma replied. “But I am glad you’re here. I haven’t seen you in a long time. I’ve been worried about you, being alone too much, since you broke up with Akari."

“It’s all right,” said Ryoga. “It hurt for a while, but I’m okay now.”

“Really? Good to hear.”

“And I haven’t been that alone,” Ryoga said, smiling. “Lately, it seems whenever I’ve gotten lost, I end up at Nabiki’s.”

Ranma looked at the profile of his friend’s face closely. Ryoga blinked back at him as Ranma leaned in closer. Ranma tilted his head. Narrowed his eyebrows. Ryoga could only look back at him, bewildered. Finally, Ranma pulled away. Sat up straight.

“Oh no,” Ranma sighed. “Akane is going to be so smug.”

“Smug? Huh?”

“Ryoga,” Ranma said. “You like her.”

“Akane? We’ve been through this--”

“Not Akane,” Ranma snapped. “Nabiki.”

“Nabiki?”

“Nabiki.”

“You think I like Nabiki?” Ryoga faced forward. Frowned. Crossed his arms. Tilted his head. “You think I like Nabiki?”

“Oh man,” said Ranma. “You really like her."

“Do I?” Ryoga furrowed his brow, deep in thought. “I really like Nabiki?”

He tilted his head to the other side. Scrunched up his nose. “I like Nabiki?”

“You keep saying it,” said Ranma, his patience slipping away. 

“I like Nabiki?” Ryoga stared straight ahead into empty space. Snapped his head over to Ranma in a panic. “I like Nabiki!”

“I know,” said Ranma. 

Ryoga turned forward again. Clenched his fists in front of him. Shouted. “I like Nabiki!”

“Yep,” agreed Ranma, wondering how long this was going to keep on. 

“What am I going to do about it?!”

“Do about what?”

Akane lifted herself up over the edge of the roof, smiling at the two boys. She took a seat next to Ranma, bending her knees and tucking her legs underneath herself.

“Akane! Home already?” asked Ranma.

“Yeah, I took an early train,” she said. “But Ryoga, what were you talking about?”

Ranma winced as Ryoga turned to Akane, wide-eyed and out of breath. 

“I like Nabiki!”

Akane’s mouth fell open into a wide, shocked grin. Her eyes sparkled. She clasped her hands together. “You do?!”

“Yeah!”

“Oh my gosh!” She grabbed hold of Ranma’s arm and shook him, his pigtail bouncing up and down. “Ranma! He likes Nabiki!”

“Yeah, I got that.”

“This is amazing! How long have you liked her?”

Ryoga hesitated. Thought. “Well, I--now that I think about it, I guess a while. But I don’t know when it started, exactly.”

“You mean--you were in the middle before you knew you had begun?” Akane bit her lip, her smile growing, her eyes shining. She shook Ranma excitedly again. “Ranma! He was in the middle before he knew he had begun!”

“I don’t know what that means,” said Ranma. 

“It’s just like Pride and Prejudice!”

“Wait, I thought you always said we were like Pride and Prejudice--”

“Irrelevant.” Akane put a hand over her husband’s mouth to stop him from saying anything else and turned back to Ryoga. “It’s so romantic, Ryoga-kun! You have to tell her!”

“I do?” Ryoga looked panic stricken again.

“Yeah,” said Akane. “She thinks you don’t like her.”

“She does?” asked Ryoga. “Why would she think that?”

Neither one of them had an answer, but Ranma was starting to scoot over to the edge of the roof. Akane caught him by the collar and pulled him back.

“Ranma, do you happen to know why she would think Ryoga-kun doesn’t like her?”

“Hmm? Me? Why would I--”

“Ranma--”

“Well, maybe she asked me,” said Ranma, shaking free of Akane’s grip.

“She did?” asked Ryoga.

“Yeah, and maybe, maybe I said--” Ranma looked away, rubbing the back of his neck. “Maybe I said no.”

“Why would you say no?” cried Ryoga.

“I thought you didn’t like her!”

“Well, the great Ranma Saotome was finally wrong about something!”

“Oh, I’m sorry, I’m not a mind reader--”

“Stop it!” Akane interrupted them before they devolved into a physical fight. “Listen, this can be fixed. Ryoga-kun, you just have to tell her how you feel.”

“Tell her?” asked Ryoga. “Like, tell her?”

“Yes!”

“Oh.” He scratched his chin. “How?”

“Well, you could--” Akane looked up out of the corner of her eyes, her cheeks inflating with air as she thought. “You could just sweep her up in your arms and kiss her!”

Ryoga thought about Nabiki’s exasperation with Ranma and Akane’s copious public displays of affection.

“I don’t think she would like that.”

“You could write her a love letter!” Akane said. “That’s romantic!”

_“Love letters?” Nabiki scoffed. “Is that all?”_

“No,” said Ryoga. “I don’t think she would like that either.”

“Get a big megaphone, and show up on campus after class and just declare it to the whole world!”

_"But a public proposal?" Nabiki hissed. "Huge yikes."_

Ryoga shook his head. “She really wouldn’t like that.”

“Oh, jeez,” said Ranma, rolling his eyes. “Just buy her something. That’s what Nabiki likes. Stuff.”

“He’s not wrong,” said Akane. “A gift would be the perfect way to tell her how you feel. And besides, she’s really liked all the gifts you’ve given her already!”

“Really?”

“What gifts?” asked Ranma.

“The kokeshi, the walkman with the headphones, the citypop CD, the little tiny Godzilla by her TV--”

“Godzilla?” asked Ranma.

“Nabiki loves Godzilla,” replied Akane.

“You knew?” asked Ryoga. 

“Of course, Nabiki used to write Godzilla fanfiction in junior high.”

“You know Akane,” said Ranma. “I really feel like your whole family concealed the depths of your nerdiness before I married into it.”

“Ranma--”

“I’m just saying,” he said, spinning his finger around in a small circle in the air. “I might need to reconsider this whole arrangement.”

“Ignore him,” Akane said to Ryoga. “But I do think a gift is the right way to go."

Ryoga held his chin between his thumb and forefinger, thinking deeply before nodding. “I think so, too. But I’m not going to buy one.”

“What? But--”

“Do you guys have any power tools?”

“With all the repairs we have to do around here?” asked Akane. “Sure.”

“You’re going to make something?” asked Ranma, raising one eyebrow. 

“Don’t worry,” said Ryoga. “I’m sure it’s the right decision.”

“Ryoga!” Ranma grinned. “The man with the plan.”

Ryoga grinned back at him, his fangs flashing in the twilight. “And this is my best one yet.”


	14. Week Fourteen

_ Sunday _

“Hello, Nabiki.”

Akane had an incredibly large and stupid looking smile on her face as she exited the doors of the train station and greeted her waiting sister.

“Hello,” Nabiki replied cautiously. “Did you have a good weekend?”

“Uh-huh.” Akane’s open mouthed smile didn’t budge as they started walking together, her eyes on Nabiki the entire time.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

Akane shrugged, still smiling. “No reason.”

“Seriously, you’re creeping me out!”

“Oh, Nabiki,” Akane sighed happily.

“What?!”

“You’re just my sister, and I love you so much,” Akane said. She at least closed her mouth, then, but kept smiling as she hummed to herself as they walked along. 

Nabiki looked away, narrowing her eyes, sticking her hands in her pockets. In a low voice, she grumbled, “I love you too.”

* * *

_ Tuesday _

“How’s it going in here?”

Ranma leaned against the doorframe of the storage shed, as Ryoga looked up from his project, raising his safety goggles on top of his head. 

“Pretty good, I think. Should definitely have this done by Friday.”

“It’s looking pretty good. I never would have thought of this.”

“Thanks, Ranma,” said Ryoga, genuinely touched. “That’s nice of you to say.”

Ranma, put off by Ryoga’s earnesty, looked away. “Well, I came here to ask you something, anyway.”

“What’s that?”

“Are you sure you’re ready?”

“Ready? For what? I’ve had a girlfriend before.”

“Not for a girlfriend, in general. But for dating one of the Tendo girls.”

Ryoga hesitated. “I don’t see why not?”

“Do you have any idea how exhausting it can be?”

“Aren’t you supposed to, like, love Akane or something?”

“Sure,” said Ranma. “Of course. I just meant dealing with the two of them, specifically.”

“I thought Akane-san and Nabiki got along?”

“They do,” said Ranma. “Mostly. But they’re sisters, so sometimes that means they hate each other’s guts.”

“I don’t understand.”

“Okay, for example,” Ranma said, sighing. “I was just talking to Akane on the phone. And she was upset because she had just had some big fight with Nabiki over something stupid that no one cares about except the two of them. So now they’re not speaking.”

“Oh,” said Ryoga. He looked back at his project. “Should I maybe put this off then? My plan?”

Ranma exhaled. “Nah. Because, the other thing is, they fight. And sometimes they don’t speak to each other for days. But then, all of a sudden, without either one of them ever apologizing, they just go back to normal. Talking again.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. And the two of them--well, they just want the other one to be happy, at the end of the day.”

“It sounds kind of nice, actually,” said Ryoga. “I never had that. I was an only child.”

“Me too,” said Ranma. “Until I came here.”

They smiled at each other. Ryoga shrugged and turned away after a moment. “I guess me and you are kinda like that too, huh?”

“Well, yeah,” said Ranma. “I call you my brother for a reason.”

* * *

_ Friday _

“Tendo.”

Nabiki looked up at Tadashi as she stood in the entry of the boarding house, leaning on Akane as she took off her shoes.

“What? Rent’s not due.”

“No,” said Tadashi. “You had a--delivery.”

“Oh?” Nabiki smiled and held out her hands. “Where is it?”

“It was pretty big,” Tadashi replied. “So it’s up in your room.”

“A big present?” Nabiki asked excitedly. “Can’t wait to see what it is!”

Akane followed her upstairs, smiling. But instead of waiting for Nabiki to unlock her door, Akane went over to her own room.

“Akane? Don’t you want to see what it is?”

Akane smiled back at her sister. “No thanks. You can tell me about it later.”

Akane disappeared behind her own door, shutting it softly behind her. 

“Weird,” Nabiki muttered. Akane had seemed to be in a good mood earlier, even though she wasn’t going home this weekend. Ranma was supposedly going to be in later tonight, though. And their walk home from class had been perfectly pleasant. So what’s with the disappearing act?

Nabiki shrugged and jostled her door, pushing it open wide. Once in the doorframe, she froze, looking down at the mysterious delivery.

A kotatsu. 

It had to have been specially made. Not very large, it took up just enough space in the room that she could still easily maneuver around it. The dark wood table top gleamed with a shiny finish, and the blue comforter with a white print looked comfy and inviting. 

Nabiki sank down to the floor, scooting forward and pulling the edge of the blanket over her knees. It was then she realized the white print was large block hiragana characters, repeated multiple times.

_ Na. Bi. Ki. _

She ran her fingertips over the stitching, tracing out her name over and over again. Trembling, she looked up, noticing the small folded white note placed on top of the table. 

_ Something just for you. _

_ \--Ryoga Hibiki _

Nabiki pressed the note flat against her chest with her palm. She absolutely refused to cry this time. But still--

“Oh damn,” she whispered to herself. “I love him.”

Terrified, she put her arms down on the tabletop. Lowered her head to rest on her forearms. Took several deep breaths. What a horrible emotion. She felt warm and tingly and also like she was on a ship at sea in the middle of a typhoon all at once. Her stomach was boiling. Every vein in her body felt overflowing with blood. A nightmare. She was living a nightmare. 

“Tacchan!” She had somehow willed her body to move. Turned. Yelled out her open door. 

“What?” replied a voice from downstairs. 

“Where’s the guy who brought this?”

“You mean your boyfriend?”

“Not my--just where is he?”

“Can you two shut up?!” Number one had opened her door and was yelling from downstairs herself. 

“You shut up!” Nabiki hollered back. “Tacchan, where is he?”

“He said he had to work tonight!”

“Work, right,” Nabiki muttered to herself. “Thanks, Tacchan!”

“No problem!”

“Manager, we really need to talk about--”

Nabiki slammed her door shut as number one launched into her complaint. She turned and ran her fingers over the tabletop, the wood smooth and even. What were the odds Ryoga was actually at the bar? He had probably gotten lost on the way. Who knew when she would actually see him again? And even if she did, what would she say? 

Still, she found herself making her way to her bureau. Pulling out a dress. Tights. A sweater. Brushing her hair. Breathing in. Out. In. Out. Okay. She could do this. She wasn’t sure what she was going to do, but she knew she could. That was the important part. 

Smiling, she tapped the tiny Godzilla next to her television on the head, causing it to make a very soft click against the top of the bureau. Winking at it as if it was an old friend, she waved and headed out.

* * *

“Ryoga-kun!”

Ryoga stood up from behind the bar, where he had just finished stocking several bottles of beer. He smiled and wiped his hands on his apron.

“Ami-san. How are you tonight? Is there another show?”

Ami shook her head, taking a seat on a bar stool. “No. We have one tomorrow, though. You wanna play with us again?”

“No thanks!”

“But you did such a good job!”

“I’m not really a band guy,” Ryoga said, waving his hands dismissively. “Plus, I’m not exactly reliable.”

“I don’t know about that,” Ami said. “It always seems like you’re here when we need you.”

“Well--”

“Ryoga.”

He looked over at his name.

“Nabiki.”

His smile grew. Everything behind her faded into a hazy glow. Warmth spread through his chest and his heart started beating faster as she walked up to the bar. Leaned forward, resting on her elbows. Smiling back at him. 

“Looks like you made it to work, just like Tacchan said.” 

“I did,” he replied. “Did you--”

Another smile from her. But it was tight lipped. Something wasn’t right. “I saw your gift. The kotatsu. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” he said. Suddenly he felt very stupid. Nabiki was always so careful about concealing her feelings. And he had made a big assumption about them. Maybe he had been wrong. Maybe Ranma and Akane had been wrong. They had been wrong about him, after all. Maybe they had been wrong about Nabiki, too, just in the opposite direction. His brain started to spiral. He had overstepped. Gone too far. Oh no. Nervously, he added, “Well, I just remembered you saying your room gets drafty, and you don’t have a heater, and--”

“I know what I said.” She was still smiling, but her tone was chilly. “It was a very thoughtful gift.”

“Really?”

“Really.” Her eyebrows softened, but only a tiny bit. “It’s honestly the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me.”

“Well,” he said, feeling relieved. “You deserve it.”

Her expression changed completely, then. Smile gone. Eyes wide. Jaw clenched. Shook her head. Plastered the smile back. “You’re a good person, Ryoga. And a really good friend.”

Ryoga’s entire body turned to stone. His eyes froze forward in a blank stare, no longer registering anything in front of him. 

_ FRIEND. _

The word echoed through his brain, his heart thundering in his ears. Absolutely all feeling had left his body and he was now confident that this would be the place he would die. 

How had this happened again?

“Hey, I’m still here,” said Ami, snapping him out of his trance. “And I still haven’t gotten anything to drink.”

“Sorry,” said Ryoga gruffly. “I’m not a bartender.”

“Still, you can--”

“I can’t!” He slammed his hands on the bar top, and by some miracle it didn’t crack, although it did shake violently. Ami and Nabiki both winced in reflex, but he turned away, heading towards the kitchen. 

“I’ll find the owner,” Ryoga murmured, not looking back at them. Marched in what he hoped was the direction of the kitchen, through a door. Relieved when the smell of fried meat and dish soap greeted him. Stood against the far wall, not actually bothering to look for the owner. Let his vision blur again as he crossed his arms. 

Of course. A friend. What had they been, other than friends? It was more than what they had been. She used to just be Akane’s sister, who he constantly regarded with suspicion. Once he had gotten to know her, he thought there was something more. And there was. 

Friendship.

That’s all it would ever be, right? He was a pig, through and through. An idiot with no sense of direction who barely even saw his dog. And no matter how hard he tried, and trained, and fought, always weaker, slower, worse than Ranma. His best friend, his biggest rival. Things always seemed to work out for that guy. He could stay in one place. Spend every day with the love of his life. 

Ryoga couldn’t do that. Nabiki needed someone more mature. More reliable. Not some weird creep who read too much into every situation. If friendship was all there was, he would have to take it. But man, heartbreak never got any easier.

And this might be the worst one yet. 

* * *

“Friendzoned by two of the three Tendo sisters, huh?” Ranma said, taking a sip of beer. “Might as well fall in love with Kasumi next, make it a hat trick.”

“That’s not funny,” Ryoga mumbled, his head resting on his arms on top of the table in the bar. Ranma and Akane had come to visit him at work once his shift was over, and he had poured his heart out to them. Drank about half a dozen beers. At least he didn’t cry, though.

“Yeah it is,” said Ranma, grinning.

“I’m sorry, Ryoga-kun,” Akane said, shifting her weight in her seat. “I really thought she liked you.”

“I know you did,” replied Ryoga, mumbling into his shirt sleeves. 

“She’s an idiot,” Ranma said.

“Ranma!” Akane chided him.

“Well, she is!” Ranma rolled his eyes. “Look at Ryoga! He’s the greatest guy on earth! Except me, of course.”

“Of course,” said Akane, sighing. 

“Who would ever like me?” Ryoga said drunkenly. “I’m a bummer to be around.”

“Well, that’s true,” agreed Ranma.

“Ranma!”

“Okay, it’s not always true. We have plenty of fun together! With all our plans, and schemes, and general shenanigans. We’re a delight!”

“Blah,” said Ryoga, tilting his head so far to the side he nearly fell off of his chair. “I’m the idiot! It’s me! I thought she liked me because--”

He hiccuped. Ranma, deciding he should be a little nicer, asked, “Because why?”

“We always laughed together.”

Akane smiled sadly. “That’s pretty sweet.”

“Yeah,” said Ranma with a sigh. “I guess it is.”

Ryoga threw his head back, staring up at the ceiling of the bar. Lifted his bottle of beer and drank the rest of it all at once. Slammed the bottle back on the table without sitting up. “This is life for me. Eternal heartbreak.”

“Hey man,” said Ranma. “We’re still young. You’re gonna be okay.”

Ryoga leaned his head over to the side. Looked at Ranma through drooping eyelids. “You think so?”

“Yeah, definitely.”

“Yeah, Ryoga-kun,” said Akane, reaching over to pat his hand. “Besides, we’ve all felt heartbreak before.”

Ryoga raised his head, one eye closed. “That’s right. You did.”

He pointed at them each in turn. “You thought Ranma didn’t love you. And Ranma thought you didn’t love him.”

Akane and Ranma looked at each other before she replied, “I guess that’s true, but--”

“But you were wrong!” Ryoga sat up sharply, a drunken smile crossing his face. “You were both wrong!”

Akane and Ranma just looked back at him, unsure of what to say.

He was out of his chair, on his feet. Leaned forward, trying to steady himself as he kept looking at them and grinning. “The two of you are huge idiots! And you were wrong!”

“Now wait a minute--”

Ryoga backed up slowly, nodding. “Nabiki loves me.”

Ranma frowned. “Uh--”

“She does!” Ryoga declared, pointing one finger up in the air. “She loves me! And you two--you two are just so unhelf--unhepuu--unelfu--unhelpful! I’ll deal with you later!”

“Ryoga-kun, wait--”

But Ryoga was gone, running out of the bar, hollering into the night. 

“Should we go after him?” Akane asked.

“Nah,” said Ranma. “We’re unhelpful, remember?”

“Don’t be so petty, Ranma.”

“Well, go after him then.”

She pouted, slouching down in her seat. “It is cold outside.”

Ranma smirked. “That’s what I thought."

* * *

Ryoga was running in the dark, his feet pounding on the sidewalk. University students were gathered in small groups here and there, some as drunk as he was. He pushed past all of them, the alcohol flowing through his body keeping him warm. Fate was showing him where to go. The unstoppable power of love. Destiny itself guided his feet. 

He had been running for a while, though. 

“Ah, shit,” he said to himself, stopping to catch his breath under a streetlight. “I’m lost!”

Fate wasn’t so unkind to Ryoga Hibiki that night, however. An old, beat up car, headlights blasting through the darkness, pulled up on the street next to him. A voice called through a rolled down window.

“Ryoga-kun?” asked Mamoru from behind the steering wheel. “Let me guess, lost again?”

“Mamo-chan,” said Ryoga, throwing himself forward, clutching the windowsill. “Can you take me to--uh--you know where Nabiki lives?”

“Sure,” said Mamoru, amused. “Hop in.”

Ryoga dove headfirst through the window and with a great struggle, managed to right himself and buckle his seatbelt.

“You could have used the door,” said Mamoru.

“I could have?”

“Hmm,” said Mamoru, releasing the brake and beginning to drive forward. “You’re drunk, huh?”

“Big time!” shouted Ryoga. 

“Then is it really such a great idea to go see Nabiki right now?”

“Yes!” cried Ryoga. “She loves me.”

Mamoru mused this over, tilting his head slightly back and forth. “I can see that.”

“You can?”

“Sure,” said Mamoru cordially, bringing the car to a stop. “Here we are.”

“Already?”

“You were only two blocks away.”

“Thanks!” Ryoga unbuckled himself, fumbling with the metal clasp and strap before throwing himself back out of the window. His amusement growing, Mamoru put his car into park and got out, leaning against the hood with his arms crossed.

Ryoga ran up to the small barrier wall that blocked the boarding house from the road. Cupped his hands around his mouth. Yelled.

“NABIKI!”

There was no response. Ryoga yelled again.

“NABIKI! NABIKI TENDO!”

Downstairs lights flickered on. Tadashi emerged, an old gray robe wrapped around him. 

“What the hell do you want?”

“Tacchan! Where’s Nabiki? I need to see Nabiki!”

“Do not call me that--”

“Ryoga?”

Nabiki herself had finally appeared in the door, a few of the other residents behind her, peeking over her shoulders. She also was wearing a robe, although hers was clean and a bright pink. 

“Nabiki!” Ryoga smiled, relief rushing through his body. “You’re here!”

“Of course I’m here,” she said, walking up to him. “Why are you here?”

He looked down at her, his smile so big and stupid he could feel it. “Nabiki!”

“Ryoga,” she said mockingly. “What is it that you want?”

“Nabiki, you--” He felt so happy. So free. “You love me!”

“What?!” She narrowed her eyebrows. The other boarding house residents started whooping from the door. Ryoga almost doubted himself until he noticed the deep red blush spreading across her face. 

“You love me,” he repeated. 

“Who--who told you that?!”

“Well, Ranma and Akane both,” said Ryoga.

“They don’t know what they’re talking about!”

“I know!” Ryoga grinned. “They don’t know what they’re talking about! Which is how I know that you love me!”

“I don’t understand--”

“You see, Ranma is stronger, sure, faster, okay, but me?” Ryoga tapped his temple with one finger. “I’m smarter.”

“Are you?” asked Nabiki in bewilderment.

“Yeah,” said Ryoga. “Cause I figured it out! I cracked the code! The mystery of Nabiki Tendo!”

“I’m not--I’m not some puzzle!”

“Yeah, you are,” said Mamoru, still watching from his position by his car.

“Mamo-chan?!”

“Hey!” He gave her a small wave.

Nabiki glared at him, but then turned her ire back to Ryoga. She poked him in the chest. “Look here, you drunk idiot, you have no idea what you are talking about! I am absolutely, positively, not--”

“Nabiki.” He clasped her raised hand in between his palms. His smile didn’t waver even a millimeter. “It’s okay. I know how you feel. I understand.”

She looked, terrified, at his hands, holding hers. Yanked it away. Turned her back on him. 

“Go home, Ryoga.”

She stomped inside, accompanied by the disappointed boos of the other boarding house residents. Ryoga watched her go, letting out a deep breath.

Mamoru patted him on the shoulder. “You want a ride home, bud?”

“Nah.” Ryoga turned to him. Smiled. Lowered himself down onto the grass, falling face forward. “I’m just gonna take a quick nap right here. She’ll come around.”

Mamoru looked down at him. “You sure?”

“Yeah,” mumbled Ryoga, folding his arms and putting them under his head as he closed his eyes. “She loves me.”

“Okay,” said Mamoru, shrugging. 

Tadashi also looked down at Ryoga. “So you’re just gonna sleep right there, then?”

“Yup.”

“Well just--just try not to freeze, all right? The last thing I need to do is clean up a corpse.”

Without sitting up or opening his eyes, Ryoga raised his hand in a thumbs up. Dropped it. Started snoring. 

“You think she does love him?” Mamoru asked Tadashi.

Tadashi shrugged. “As much as she can love anybody.”

Mamoru smiled down at Ryoga’s snoring body. “That’s a lot, then.”

* * *

_ Saturday _

Nabiki nudged Ryoga with her foot. He sat up, his face covered in dirt and dead grass. 

“Who is it?”

“Me, dummy.” She sat down on the front steps of the boarding house, throwing a blanket at him. She adjusted herself so the hem of her long sweater was under her thighs as she sat, bending her knees and leaning forward. Ryoga managed to pull himself upright, wrapping the blanket around his shoulders, leaning against the bottom step at her feet. She handed him a bottle of water, which he accepted and drank from greedily.

“Good morning,” she said when he finally finished.

“Good morning,” he wiped his mouth and set the empty bottle down beside him.

“I can’t believe you slept out here all night,” she said. “You wouldn’t even let Ranma carry you inside.”

“I don’t remember that,” Ryoga said. 

“Probably for the best,” Nabiki replied, recalling how Ranma had gotten so frustrated he had threatened to beat Ryoga’s head in before the resident of number two had left their room and started screaming loud enough to wake up the neighbors across the street. 

“Hmm,” Ryoga grunted, clutching the blanket to himself. 

“Do you remember the rest of the night?”

“Mmm,” he grunted again. “Yeah.”

“So you know you made a fool of yourself, then.”

“Did I?” He looked over his shoulder, up at her, squinting against the sun. “I’m pretty sure I was right.”

“You shouldn’t--” She blushed. She could feel herself blushing. “You shouldn’t just use me for an ego boost.”

“Me?” Ryoga scoffed. “My name’s not Ranma Saotome.” 

“Not everything has to be about Ranma!” shouted Nabiki. “Or Akane!”

“You’re right,” Ryoga agreed readily, and the anger went out of her. “Some things should just be for you.”

She looked down at her sneakers, the blue hem of her jeans contrasting against the red canvas bound by bright white shoelaces. “It’s so stupid, to be jealous of my little sister.”

“Nabiki, it’s all right,” said Ryoga. “If you just want to be friends--”

“I don’t!” said Nabiki. “I don’t want to be friends!”

“I don’t understand.”

“I don’t understand either,” said Nabiki. She pulled the ends of her sweater sleeves down, hiding her hands. Put them in her lap. “Last night, I went to the bar, and I thought. I thought--here I am. I’m gonna make a move on this guy. And then I saw you talking with Ami, and you were smiling, and then I thought--you know, Ryoga is just so nice. He’s nice and kind to everyone. He just made me a kotatsu, he just rescued me, he just sent me all those thoughtful gifts that showed he knew me so well, because he’s nice. And I was an idiot to think it was anything more than that.”

Ryoga was quiet. Looked ahead at the street. Not any passerby, this early in the morning. Probably other university students were sleeping off their own hangovers. 

“The worst part is, I still don’t know,” Nabiki said. Tears were starting to fall from her eyes, even though she had sworn she wouldn’t cry again. She wiped them away with the sleeves of her sweater, but they just kept coming. “You came here last night, and you just kept saying that I love you! But you didn’t say that you love me! And I don’t even know if you can! Who could? Love someone like me?”

Ryoga placed his palms on the ground. Lifted himself up so he could sit on the same step as Nabiki. Readjusted the blanket.

She was bent over, still crying, albeit silently. 

“I do,” he said. “I can. I love you, Nabiki.”

She froze, still hunched over. Her tears stopped instantly. Slowly, she raised her head. Straightened her posture. Wiped her face with her sleeve. 

“Really?” she asked. 

He smiled, looking her in the eyes. “Yeah.”

He reached out. Held her hand. His hand was cold from the night, but hers was warm. She ran her thumb over the top of his finger knuckles. Just looked at his face in the morning light.

“I’m not going to kiss you,” she said. “Your breath stinks.”

He laughed. “Fair enough.”

Her heart fluttered at the sound of his laugh. Such an unusual thing. Maybe this being in love thing wasn’t so bad after all. Especially when it was with a guy like this. But a tiny voice inside was whispering something nasty, making her doubt. 

“Ryoga, are you sure I’m not just--” Ugh, she had to be honest about her feelings. Open up. Gross. She swallowed the lump in her throat and pressed on on anyway. “Are you sure I’m not just second choice?”

“Second choice?” He sounded genuinely confused.

“You used to love Akane. My little sister. You loved her a lot.”

“I’ve told you before, I don’t. I don’t feel that way. Haven’t for a long time--”

“But I’m just another Tendo! Couldn’t get her, so you settle for me!”

Ryoga frowned. Bit his lip. Thought this over. Squeezed her hand. 

“Well, you and Akane are a lot alike.”

“Oh, great--”

“Wait. Listen.” He pulled her hand down as she tried to stand, so she remained on the step. “You are alike. You’re both smart. Brave. Strong.”

“I’m no fighter--”

“Not like that. You know what I mean.”

She did know. So she didn’t say anything else.

“You’re both very kind.”

“I’m not--”

“Of course you are. You let me sleep on your floor, just so I didn’t get stuck in the rain. You played in your friend’s band, for practically nothing, just because he needed help. You helped Akane find all those jobs, even when she kept messing up. You made sure the guy who tried to kill you went to the hospital. You’re one of the kindest people I ever met.”

Nabiki was really shocked by this one. She never would have described herself as kind. But someone else had called her kind, once. Ranma’s mother. Who always seemed happy to see her. Maybe she was. Maybe it was okay to like that about herself. 

Stupid Ryoga. Making her feel things. What a jerk. 

“But you’re also extremely different,” Ryoga continued, still holding her hand.

“Is that so?”

“Obviously. You’re ambitious. Confident.”

“I thought you said Akane was--”

“Akane is brave, it’s different. You’re brave and confident.”

"Hmm."

“You are very charming. Flirty. And funny.”

“You don’t think Akane is funny?”

“Well--” Ryoga stretched his mouth out into a thin smile. “I care deeply about Akane-san. But her sense of humor is--let’s just say, she laughs at all of Ranma’s jokes.”

Nabiki started giggling, her shoulders shaking. Ryoga started laughing with her, and finally let go of her hand so he could clutch his own stomach, his body slipping down one step so he was below Nabiki again.

“And he’s not funny!” cried Nabiki, in between gasps of laughter.

“He’s not!” Ryoga yelled, laughter overcoming him as well. “But he really thinks he is!”

Their laughter continued, loud, obnoxious, tears streaming from their eyes. It seemed to go on forever, several minutes passing before their guffaws faded into chuckles, then soft giggles. Ryoga crossed his arms over his chest, looking out at the street. 

Nabiki, overcome with some strange impulse, leaned forward, draping her arms over his shoulders from behind. Leaned her head against his from the side.

“You know,” she said softly. “I didn’t take you out of that party because I was embarrassed you turn into a pig.”

“Oh?”

“I took you out because--” She dipped her head a bit. Felt another blush rise on her cheeks. “Because I was jealous.”

“Jealous?”

She nodded, and he could feel her chin in his shoulder. “Yeah. When Ami picked you up, and she so openly showed how she felt. I just thought--well. I don’t know. I was jealous.”

“So you don’t care--”

“Ryoga is Ryoga,” she said. “You’re great either way.”

He reached up, interlacing his fingers with hers, her hands out in front of him. Someone was jealous over him. When he was P-chan.

No. He was still Ryoga. Always was. 

“I still am going to get lost,” he said softly. “I always do.”

“I know,” she said. “But I need a lot of alone time. I’m very independent.”

He laughed. She loved the way his body felt in her arms when he did. “I guess that’s true.”

“Besides,” she moved in closer. Held him a little tighter. “You always seem to end up in the right place at the right time anyway.”

“Let’s hope I always do.”

“I know you will.”

A moment of silence. Of peace. The quiet street. Leaves rustling on the sidewalk. 

“KISS KISS KISS KISS KISS--”

“Ranma, hush--”

Nabiki and Ryoga looked up above them in shock, where Ranma, Akane, and Tadashi hung out of the front window of the second story of the boarding house, looking down at them.

“What the hell are you doing?!” Nabiki demanded, standing up and putting her hands on her hips.

“I’m tired of all the mushy gushy talk,” said Ranma. “Just make out already!”

Nabiki gritted her teeth. “Mind your own business!”

Akane spread her arms out wide in indignation. “To be fair, you used to do this exact same thing to us, all the time!”

Nabiki crossed her arms. Smirked. “I did, didn’t I?’

“Yeah!” yelled Ranma. “And I am funny!”

“No you’re not!” Ryoga shouted back. 

“Yes, I am! Listen to this joke--”

“NO!” shouted Ryoga and Nabiki in unison. 

“Akane, tell them I’m funny--”

“He’s funny!”

“He is not!”

“Shut up, shut up, shut up!”

Number four, finally emerging from their room. Nabiki couldn’t see them, but Tadashi, Akane, and Ranma disappeared back inside, the window shutting behind them. Ryoga and Nabiki were finally left alone, standing next to each other and staring upwards. 

They looked at each other, noticed each other’s expressions, and started laughing again. 


	15. Week Fifteen

_ Friday _

“So what kind of a kisser is he?”

“Who?” asked Nabiki with faux innocence, looking down at her boots as she balanced on the concrete remains of a small wall that bordered the curb of the street she and Akane were currently walking down.

“Ryoga!” Akane cried in exasperation.

“Hmm,” said Nabiki, smiling, her hands spread out to the side, her jacket hanging loose. “That’s a good question.”

“You mean you don’t know?”

Nabiki shrugged. Hopped down off the wall when she reached the end, landing neatly on the sidewalk. “We haven’t kissed yet.”

“Are you serious?”

“I sent him off to get cleaned up on Saturday. Haven’t seen him since.”

“Nabiki!”

“What?” asked Nabiki. “It’s fine.”

“Don’t you miss him?”

“Sure. But he’s always around at the right time.”

Akane shook her head. “I don’t understand you.”

“Good,” Nabiki said, grinning and turning to face her sister. “Aah, here we are.” 

They were at the bar already. Nabiki opened the door, gallantly bowing her head and gesturing for her sister to go in first. At the same table in the back everyone else was already waiting. Her dad. Nodoka. Genma. Kasumi. Tofu. Ranma. And--

“Ryoga.”

Standing next to Ranma, holding a mug of beer. He looked up at the sound of his name. Smiled.

“Nabiki.”

Suddenly Nabiki did understand her sister very well, and had to squash the urge to jump and throw her arms around the guy right there in front of everyone. Instead, she coolly strode over to him and grinned, lifting the mug of beer out of his hands and taking a sip. 

“Thanks.” 

“You are more than welcome.”

Akane did not squash her own urge to jump up into Ranma’s arms, which she did excitedly, with him planting a kiss on her in front of everyone. Luckily, they didn’t go further than that.

“Nabiki, I’m so glad to be here,” Nodoka said, giving her a side hug around her shoulders. “I haven’t been to a rock show in a bar in twenty years!”

“I’ve never been to one,” said Kasumi. “But I’m sure it will be great!”

“Where’s the baby?” asked Nabiki.

“With my mother,” replied Tofu. “You’ve never seen a woman so happy to be a grandmother.”

“I was going to bring Mirai, but Akane said it was inappropriate to have a baby in a bar,” Kasumi said.

“It is!” Akane declared. “Also the noise would be bad for her little ears.”

“Really? I didn’t think about that.”

Nabiki raised her eyebrows. Kasumi, not knowing everything there was to know about babies? Would wonders never cease?

“Can I smoke in here?” asked Soun. 

“Don’t, Dad, it’s so bad for you!”

“I guess you’re right,” Soun said, shooting Nabiki a sideways glance and winking. 

“I’m hungry,” said Genma. “Is there food here?”

“Sure is, Pop. What do you want? I’ll go order it for you.”

“Ranma, my favorite son!”

“Your only son!”

“Let’s hope.”

“What exactly does that mean?” asked Nodoka.

“Well--”

Nabiki watched as her entire family continued their conversation and argument. She had finally told Akane she was in a band, and she had been right about Akane being obnoxiously supportive. Her sister had immediately wanted to invite everyone to the next show. But she had asked Nabiki’s permission first. And Nabiki had happily given it. 

“Nabiki!”

Ami had thrown her arms around Nabiki’s shoulders from behind and started to pull her back. 

“Come on, we’ve got sound check!”

Nabiki attempted to wave at her family, but they were all busy arguing amongst themselves loudly. Except Ryoga, who had his attention focused entirely on her. He retrieved his mug of beer as Ami pulled Nabiki away and smiled warmly, waving back at her. 

That was all she needed. She let Ami pull her the rest of the way to the stage, where Mamoru was lifting his guitar strap around his neck. 

“So that’s your family, huh?” he asked, fiddling with the tuning pegs. 

“Yeah,” she said. “It is.”

He watched them arguing at the back of the room, some of them yelling, some of them laughing, some of them pouting indignantly. 

He smiled and raised one eyebrow at Nabiki. “They’re a lot like you, huh?”

“You think so?”

He looked back at them, then at her. “Oh yeah. Definitely.”

She smiled, stepped up to the microphone. Looked ahead at her family, who all loved and supported her. Gross. Disgusting. 

Wonderful.

“Yeah,” she said. “Maybe you’re right.”

* * *

The show was their best one yet.

Whenever they finished a song, the crowd at the back of the room would clap and holler loud enough to shake the walls. Their enthusiasm infected the rest of the crowd, and the energy as they kept playing built and built. Nabiki felt like her chest was going to explode. 

“All right, and now, for our last song-------------------”

The microphone sparked, died. Nabiki turned around to look at Mamoru.

“You got another one of these things?” she whispered.

“Another what?”

“Microphone!”

“What’s wrong with this one?” He stepped forward, touched it. “Yeeowch!”

It had sent up another flurry of sparks, electrocuted him. He yanked the cord out of the power source.

“Well,” he said. “Hmm. Shit.”

“Shit?!” asked Nabiki. 

“Just, you know, project!”

“I can’t, it’s still a little rough from when I lost my voice a couple weeks ago!”

“Are you serious? I thought--”

“Hey, where’s the music?!" yelled an angry man in the crowd. “I wanna hear a song!”

“Now, now, folks,” Mamoru said, smiling and holding up his hands. “Just minor technical difficulties. One moment and we’ll--”

“Shut up and sing!” yelled the man. He started pounding on his tabletop with his fist and chanting, and the others in his group joined in drunkenly. “Sing! Sing! Sing! Sing!”

Nabiki frowned, putting her hands on her hips, looking out over the crowd angrily. Bunch of drunk idiots. Still, they seemed to be getting pretty upset. And if they didn’t finish the show, they might not get paid. She hesitated, unsure of what to do.

_ “As always, I meet her at the same station, wearing a sailor uniform, with her hair in braids--” _

A creaky, but booming voice, from the back of the room.

Nabiki sighed, leaning her face forward into her palm. 

_ “She's coming soon, she's coming soon, today again, I wait for her to come--” _

Of course it was Ranma, attempting to swoop in and save the day. With the oldest, corniest, most overplayed song in the world--

_ “There’s always tomorrow, there’s always tomorrow, there’s always tomorrow, after all!” _

Ranma was on stage now, his arm around Nabiki, who grimaced as he swayed back and forth. 

_ “And she was drenched in the rain, I was waiting to invite her under my umbrella--” _

Akane was singing now too, from her spot at the table. Then Kasumi joined in.

_ “I'd call to her, I'd call to her, but ended up watching her quietly--” _

The whole room joined in for the chorus. It was familiar, and silly, and everyone knew it.

_ “There’s always tomorrow, there’s always tomorrow, there’s always tomorrow, after all!” _

Ami started to tap out a beat on her drums again. Mamoru adjusted his guitar. Started to play along with the crowd as they all continued singing loudly. Ranma was eagerly shifting his weight back and forth, not even noticing Nabiki wasn’t singing with him. 

Somehow she had lost sight of Ryoga. He wasn’t with the rest of her family. She looked around the room, everyone singing, swaying, clapping along with the music. Oh no. Had he gotten lost again?

Someone was holding her hand. She looked up, and there Ryoga was, right where she needed him. He grinned down and squeezed her fingers tight. She squeezed back and smiled, and joined in with him and the rest for the final part of the song. 

_ “There's always tomorrow, yeah, there's always tomorrow, I'm young enough to still have my dreams, surely someday, surely someday, she will understand!” _

There were tears in her eyes, one more time. But happy tears, that felt warm as they slid down her cheeks. The chorus, one last time, everyone in the room screaming at the top of their lungs.

_ “There’s always tomorrow! There’s always tomorrow! There’s always tomorrow after all!” _

* * *

“It was great.”

“It was, wasn’t it?”

Nabiki and Ryoga walked, alone, down the dark street. Her entire family, Akane and Ranma included, had decided to take a late train back to Tokyo. They had hugged her tightly, each and everyone one of them, her father and Akane crying while they did so. Had shared drinks with her, Ami, and Mamoru. And it was nearly closing time when they finally all spilled into the street and shared goodbyes. 

Now it was just her and Ryoga. She reached down. Held his hand. He had his pack with him. Had he been wandering around alone for a whole week? Didn’t matter. He was here now. 

She hopped up on the little wall she had passed previously, and he kept hold of her hand as she did so, helping her balance. The skirt of her dress got picked up a little in the breeze as she walked along, carefully placing one foot in front of the other. Taller than Ryoga, for once, she could see the top of his head as they strolled together. 

She hopped down at the end, and Ryoga caught her, spinning her to face him, hands on her waist. She smiled and pressed her hands against his chest, moving in close to him. In response, he wrapped his arms around her a little more, joining his hands together at the small of her back. 

“You know,” she said. “We haven’t kissed yet.”

“I know,” he replied. “Would you like to?”

She laughed. “You’re just going to ask like that?”

“It seemed polite,” he said earnestly.

For once, she responded to him with the same earnestness. “I would like to.”

He grinned. Leaned down. 

Kissed her.

And he was good at it.

She arched her back, pressing into him, lifting herself up on her toes as he held her tighter. So tightly he actually lifted her up an inch or two, her feet off the ground. Her heart fluttered, her head felt light, and all the while their lips remained together. The night was dark and cold, the late autumn wind whipping relentlessly through their clothes. But in Ryoga's arms, she felt warm, a tingling in her fingertips as she wrapped her arms around his neck. She let her fingers run through his hair, sliding under the edge of his bandana. 

They parted briefly, their lips still barely touching, but only so he could take a deep breath and then kiss her again. And the way he tilted his head, moved his lips, wow. He really knew what he was doing. Nabiki always considered herself a person who was hard to impress, but Ryoga managed to knock her off her feet over and over again.

A rumble erupted from the starless sky above. One fat raindrop fell and landed on Nabiki's face.

"Ah," said Ryoga, finally pulling back and setting her down. "Rain."

He reached behind himself and unfastened his umbrella from his pack, opening it and holding it above them as the sky let forth a torrent of rainfall.

Underneath the umbrella, Ryoga turned his gaze down to Nabiki.

"So," he said, smiling. "Is your floor still open?"

"Sorry, no." She gave him a sympathetic smile and traced her index finger through the wrinkles of his shirt. "Didn't you hear? Some idiot put a kotatsu there, so there's no more room."

"Oh," he replied in genuine disappointment, his smile fading.

"But," she continued, tilting her head to the side. "There is plenty of room in my bed."

"Oh," he said his smile reappearing. He lifted his free hand, touched her face, sliding his palm to rest against her cheek. Laughing, he kissed her again and she giggled against his lips before pulling away.

"All right," she said. "Let's go."

Hand in hand, they walked inside. 


	16. Another Day

_ Another Day _

"You guys ready?"

Ranma grinned, pushing the door to Nabiki's room wide open with no trouble, as Ryoga had fixed it long ago.

"Ready for what?" asked Nabiki, sitting at the kotatsu, drinking tea while Ryoga sat on the other side, writing a letter to his mom. Shirokuro was curled up on the end of Nabiki's bed, sleeping soundly.

Ranma frowned. Turned and yelled down the hallway.

"Akane! I thought you said you asked them!"

"I did ask them," Akane replied, appearing beside him. "Nabiki said no."

"What?!" Disappointed, Ranma sat down and scooted forward, his knees under the kotatsu. "Come on, Nabiki!"

"No," she said, taking a sip of tea.

"No to what?" Ryoga asked, as Shirokuro woke up, yawned, and moved over so that her head rested on Ryoga's shoulder. 

Nabiki sighed. "They want to go on a--"

"Double date!" shouted Ranma.

Ryoga frowned. "Kinda corny--"

"Double date! Double date! Double date! Double date!" Ranma slammed his fists on the tabletop rhythmically as he chanted. Shirokuro got excited and barked, following with a soft howl.

"Tendo, is that a--" Tadashi was in the doorway next to Akane. "I said no pets!"

"She's not my pet," Nabiki replied, shrugging.

"Now listen--" Tadashi lowered his brow, and pointed one meaty finger into the room. "I have had just about enough of your shenanigans! I'm about to reach my breaking point--"

"Been there," said Ryoga.

"You know what?" said Nabiki. "Maybe now is a good time for a double date."

"Really?" asked Akane excitedly. 

"Yeah." Nabiki stood up, grabbed her jacket, put her hand out and helped Ryoga stand, although he didn't need it. "Let's go."

The foursome pushed past a distraught Tadashi, eagerly heading down the stairs. While putting on her shoes, bearing her weight on Akane's shoulders, Nabiki yelled back up.

"Keep an eye on Shirokuro, would you? Don't worry, she's a good girl!"

"Wait just a minute--"

But they were gone, the front door closed behind them.

Tadashi sighed and crossed his arms, leaning against Nabiki's door. Shirokuro hopped down from the bed and took a seat next to him, wagging her tail.

Tadashi looked down at her and gave the dog a weary smile. "Well, you have to be less trouble than the rest of them, right?"

Shirokuro, understanding completely, gave him a happy bark in return.

The four who had left him started out on their journey, bracing themselves against the cold winter wind.

"Ranma, carry me," Akane said, jumping on her husband's back.

"Why do you always do this?" he grumbled, but smiled as he hooked his arms under her legs.

"I worked all day today, I'm tired!"

"I've seen you literally run for twenty miles without slowing down even once!"

"Yeah, but that was for fun!"

Nabiki took Ryoga's hand, trailing behind her brother and sister.

"You want me to carry you?" he asked.

"Absolutely not," she replied.

"Good, if you had said yes I would have been scared that you had been replaced with a pod person or something."

"A pod person?" She looked up at him, an unstoppable smile crossing her face. "Ryoga! Did you watch Invasion of the Body Snatchers?"

"I did," he said slowly. "It was pretty good."

"The original or the remake?"

"There's a remake?"

"Oh yeah--"

She continued explaining the differences as they walked along, ignoring Ranma when he turned around to call her a nerd. Ryoga was genuinely interested after all. They crowded into the booth in the diner they had been to before, Nabiki moving in extra close to Ryoga for warmth. Mamoru and Ami were there, sitting in the booth behind them with Ami's new boyfriend. They all talked over each other, across both tables, sharing stories and food until it was time to pay.

"It's on me," said Ranma chivalrously to the cheers of the others. He grinned and reached into his pocket. His smile faded. "I forgot my wallet."

This was greeted by boos. Someone threw a french fry at him.

Ryoga sighed. "I'll pay."

Another round of cheers.

"Where'd you get the money?" Ranma asked.

"He does have a job," said Nabiki. "Sometimes."

"Still? Paying for all of us? Shouldn't you save up? You're poor as hell."

Ryoga frowned. Looked confused. "I'm not poor."

"You're not?" asked Akane.

"No. My family has plenty of money."

Both tables were staring at him open mouthed.

"But you bus tables!" said Mamoru.

"That was to make up for breaking the wall, at first, " said Ryoga. "And after was, well--so I could see Nabiki."

"Aww," said Ami and Akane together.

"But you're always starving! You never have any money on you!" Ranma cried.

"Sure I do," said Ryoga. "I just usually spend it on souvenirs. Being on the road so much, it's not a good idea to carry a bunch of cash around for long. I just have a hard time finding the bank when I run out."

"So you're rich?" asked Mamoru. "Like, really rich?"

Ryoga shrugged. "I guess."

Nabiki covered her mouth with one hand. Looked down at the table. Her shoulders started trembling.

"Nabiki?" Akane asked. "Are you all right?"

Nabiki looked up, tears streaming down her face. Placing her hand over her heart, she declared, "This is the happiest day of my life!"

Ryoga paid. The group left the diner in high spirits. Mamoru, Ami, and her boyfriend split off in the opposite direction from the others. Akane jumped on Ranma's back again with no complaints from him this time. As they headed towards the boarding house, Ranma kept insisting on telling joke after joke that only Akane laughed at. 

There was a small crowd of people gathered at the end of the next street after they turned a corner. The four of them walked up and noticed the crowd staring ahead and upwards.

"What's going on?" Nabiki asked a young woman with a bookbag standing nearby.

"Uh--" The woman pointed. "That."

A thirty foot tall bipedal crocodile type lizard emerged from behind a building, its tail smashing down on the roof as it roared.

"Ooh!" Nabiki clapped her hands together in front of her in excitement. Noticing the strange look the other girl gave her, she cleared her throat and said in a weak voice, "I mean, oh noooo, how scary, won't someone stop it, or whatever--"

"All right," said Akane, sighing and climbing off of Ranma's back. "I guess we have to do something, huh?"

Ranma grinned, cracked his knuckles, and thumbed his nose. "Looks like fun."

Ryoga looked back at Nabiki. She waved him forward. 

"Go on, go fight the lizard monster with your friends. Have a good time."

"Thanks! I love you!"

"I love you too, dummy."

Ryoga nodded, and he, Akane, and Ranma quickly adopted ready stances before jumping forwards and upwards to engage in a fight. Nabiki looked on with the rest of the crowd. She had to admire their skill, after all.

She leaned over to the girl with the backpack.

"You see that guy with the bandana?"

The girl frowned in confusion. "Uh, yeah?"

"That's my boyfriend."

"Good for you?"

"You know what else?" Nabiki asked.

"What?"

"He's really rich, so--" She smirked and held her hands out wide, as if nothing else needed to be said.

"Great," said the girl sarcastically. "I'm happy for you."

Nabiki looked up. Watched Ryoga fighting, laughing, winning. She smiled.

"Yeah," she said. "I'm happy too."


	17. Author's Notes

What can I say? This was just an absolute blast to write. 

So when writing The Sound of the Ocean, there's a few scenes written from Nabiki's point of view, which I have never written from before in my life, despite having written Ranma 1/2 fanfiction for decades now. And I've always been the "Ranma/Akane is the OTP to end all OTPs" weirdo diehard fan of that ship, and never had any reason or inclination to write anything else.

And then! 

Nabiki and Ryoga sat next to each other. 

In The Sound of the Ocean, there is a scene where Nabiki tells her family Ranma and Akane have gone on a training trip with Ryoga. Ryoga, however, is already there at the table, much to her surprise. 

And that's all it took. 

All of a sudden, I had a brand new, completely unexpected, very strong, and suprisingly plausible ship. 

It did, however, put a bit of a hitch in my plans for the next part of this series. But I think I worked out a solution to that problem as well, which will also be very fun. 

Nabiki was a lot of fun to write! She's very different than most characters I have written before. But, she shares my love of rich men and Godzilla, although, to be fair, I gave her the love of Godzilla. But who doesn't love Godzilla? 

"Present" is one of the ending themes of Ranma 1/2 that has been covered by Koichi Yamadera, Ryoga's voice actor. It is corny. It is silly. Koichi Yamadera's version is not the slow, melancholy version I described in this story, either. It is remarkably earnest. 

I accidentally named both of Nabiki's band mates after Sailor Moon characters and didn't realize it until the story was almost done. Whoops. 

A college Halloween party in Japan in the mid-90's might be a little anachronistic, but whatever, I had a good time writing about it, and that's the important part. Speaking of anachronisms, when putting together the Spotify playlist, I included 男と女 by Junko Ohashi instead of any of the songs that are actually on Neo History, lol. Unfortunately, 男と女 was released a little later than this story takes place. But 男と女 is a fucking _bop_ , so. And it's not like I choose songs for historical accuracy! It's about the emotion! 

When writing this, I actually took a one week break and hammered out a different, also 40k word long story, that is sad and weird and completely unrelated to this series! Although it is, of course, still Ranma 1/2 fanfiction, and still Ranma/Akane. I don't know if I'll ever post it. 

Ryoga, in this story, does what I consider the most romantic thing a man can possibly do--build a kotatsu for the woman he loves. 

Everyone got to act like idiots in this story. Which is just the best. And if this story didn't take place at Maison Ikkoku, it certainly took place somewhere very much like it. 

Most importantly, this, along with being a love story, is a story about sisters. I have a large age gap between my sisters and myself, but they themselves are less than two years apart. I based a lot of Akane's and Nabiki's interactions and behavior with each other with what I witnessed from them. I hope it rings true for others. 

The fourth part of this series will most likely be long, sprawling. All over the place. I can't wait to see where it goes, because a lot of this story surprised me, and I wrote it!

Sometimes, all it takes is two people sitting next to each other. 


End file.
